Two Opus Leaders Receive Constructech’s First Annual Women in Construction Award

Recently two of our leaders were honored with Constructech magazine’s 2015 Women in Construction Award. Julie Ledger, vice president and general manager of Opus Development Company, L.L.C., and Linda Gonzales, vice president of Information Technology for Opus Holding, L.L.C., each received the award, which recognizes women who have embraced innovation and technology to effectively drive growth and change in their organizations, the construction industry and within their communities.

Ledger and Gonzales are among 38 female construction industry executives nationwide who received the prestigious award. In a male-dominated industry, the honorees are extraordinary catalysts for change who are steadily moving the needle forward for technology, construction, and women.

“The Women in Construction award winners demonstrate exemplary leadership and have accelerated the growth of technology, while inspiring others within construction,” says Peggy Smedley, editorial director of Constructech magazine. “Each woman embodies passion, tenacity and grace even under the toughest of circumstances, which ultimately has empowered them to take risks and challenge the status quo.”

In addition to inspiring women in the construction industry, Julie Ledger, LEED AP, is a role model for girls and women in her community. Julie oversees all real estate development and design-build construction in the Milwaukee and Madison markets. Since joining Opus in 1996 as a project management professional, she has taken on progressively more responsibility leading to her current leadership position. Julie also serves on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of Southeastern Wisconsin, the advisory board for CommonBond Communities and the board of trustees for the Milwaukee Montessori School.

“I am humbled and honored to be recognized this way,” said Julie. “While women still make up a small percentage of the construction and real estate workforce, I believe the number will continue to grow as we further expose the younger generation to what a great career path development and construction can be.”

Linda Gonzales was a network administrator when she started with Opus 15 years ago. Fast forward to today and she’s the vice president of Information Technology leading IT strategy, development and operations, as well as systems analysis and data communication network activities. Linda is a strong, supportive team leader who transformed our IT function from what was a very decentralized IT infrastructure, into a world-class operation. When asked about her greatest accomplishment to date, she immediately credits her team. She has built what she calls a “phenomenal” IT team that supports the organization to very high standards. One of her greatest joys is building teams and allowing them to do their job.

“It’s an honor to receive this award as a tribute to all the dedicated, hard-working woman leaders in the construction and technology industries,” said Linda. “They are proof that with persistence and confidence, anything is possible.”

The 2015 Women in Construction awards were presented as part of Constructech Magazine’s 2015 Technology Day on August 27 in Schaumburg, Ill. The full list of winners is featured in the September/October issue of Constructech magazine, which is available in print or by downloading the Constructech app in the iTunes App Store or Google Play.