Nicole Ivers: Inspiration Award Winner: Blazing The Trail for Women in Construction

Nicole Ivers has spent her life breaking down barriers for women in the construction industry. The Global Head of Environmental, Health and Safety at Brookfield Properties, the 48-year-old spent many years living in the Middle East, where she oversaw large-scale projects and made a name for women in leadership. Now, back in Atlanta, Ivers is making a commitment to living in the moment and helping those in her community.

What impact do you hope to leave on the world?

I hope I will have made workplaces – especially in construction – safer and helped change how we, as a society, look at worker safety, influencing how we build to make it inherently safer. I also hope that my role in a male-dominated field will have paved the way for other women. I have had to work hard to prove myself, and I hope that I will have prevented women who come after me from facing similar struggles and discrimination.

What piece of advice would you give to people in their 20s and 30s?

Be happy in each moment and make memories along the way. There will never be enough time or money to do or have all the things. What matters to me in my 40s is so different than what I thought was important in my younger years. It’s not how big my house is or what kind of car I drive. It’s the time I spend with those that I love.

What event has influenced your life most?

Hands down, living and working in the Middle East. I was given an opportunity to oversee work on some of the largest construction projects in the world. As a woman in a leadership position, I was challenged by many who did not believe I belonged. I proved many wrong and changed many minds about women while I was there. I got to experience life from a different perspective, learning and experiencing another country’s challenges and triumphs. I gained a more global perspective on many issues.

What is your favorite way to give back?

Kids’ Chance of Georgia is a charity that is close to my heart and one I stay involved in. The nonprofit provides educational scholarships to children of Georgia workers who have been seriously or fatally injured, many times on construction projects. People don’t always see the impact these incidents have and that something as simple as being able to pursue education can be made possible with their support.

Who has helped you be your best self?

Peach Out Power Yoga in Roswell! Regardless of what I am looking for—a physical workout, an emotional health boost or just seeing good friends—this yoga studio has been my saving grace.