Published February 5, 2026 . 3 mins read

I’ve always loved the month of March. For many years, it was simply because it’s my birthday month. As I got older and more aware of the world around me, it took on a deeper meaning. March is Women’s History Month, March 8 marks International Women’s Day, and in 2019, when I started working at CFMA, I learned it’s also Women in Construction Week.

When I joined ProNovos in July 2023, I knew that by March 2024, I wanted to do something meaningful to support Women in Construction. That year, we hosted our first Women in Construction Week webinar, Elevating Efficiency: Insights from Women in Construction, joined by Tori Terrell, Sarah Shores, and Angela Cotie. In 2025, we continued the tradition with The Queen’s Gambit: Women Making Bold Moves in Construction, featuring Staci Hurst, Rebekah Kuller, and Tori Terrell.

As we began planning this year’s March programming, there was a placeholder on the calendar labeled “Women in Construction TBD,” and my name was assigned to it. At the same time, I was navigating a very different reality personally. I was two weeks post-op from a hysterectomy and had just learned that a fall I had taken on December 18 had resulted in a fractured shoulder that was initially misdiagnosed. I was now facing shoulder surgery scheduled for February 17.

I felt the weight of wanting to support Women in Construction Week, while also realizing I didn’t have the capacity to organize a full webinar, recruit panelists, structure it, guide the presentation, and rehearse everything in a matter of weeks.

That’s when a memory surfaced, one that has stayed with me for years.

While I was at CFMA, I had invited someone I deeply admire, Mary Davolt, to be a guest on a show we were producing. She initially said yes. The next day, she called back and said she had reviewed her schedule, realized she didn’t have the capacity, and respectfully declined.

At the time, I was struck by that moment. It was the first time I had seen a woman confidently say no to an opportunity without apology. I’ve always been a go-getter. Saying yes felt like the default, both personally and professionally. Until recently, I rarely questioned it.

So when my colleague moved forward, assuming I would lead the webinar, I stopped the conversation and said, “I can’t do that this year. I’ll only be two weeks post-op from my second surgery in a month.”

There was a brief pause, a moment of surprise, and then a simple “Okay.” We shifted the conversation and moved on.

That moment is what I want to share during Women in Construction Week.

Not only is it okay to say no, but it’s also normal. For a long time, many of us have felt pressure to prove we can do everything, all at once. But saying no creates space. It gives others room to step up. It allows us to breathe, think, and focus on what truly matters in that season.

At some point, saying no became associated with weakness. I see it differently now. It’s a sign of self-awareness, clarity, and strength. It’s recognizing that your value isn’t tied to how much you can carry or how many roles you can juggle. Even when you are capable of doing it all, it’s worth asking what you’re trading in return. Time, peace, and clarity are not infinite resources.

That reflection led me to a different idea. While I don’t have the capacity this year to organize a traditional panel, I can create space for connection.

So instead, I’m hosting a Women in Construction Week virtual networking event focused on the pressures and expectations women face in this industry. A space to connect, share, and simply be honest with one another.

I don’t expect that one conversation will change everything. I learned this lesson years ago, and it still took me time to live it. But change doesn’t happen without awareness. We can’t break patterns we don’t acknowledge, and we can’t acknowledge them if we never talk about them.

That’s what I hope this conversation creates, not pressure to fix everything, but space to notice, reflect, and begin asking different questions.

I hope you’ll join me on March 6 at 1:00 pm ET for Beyond Doing It All: Leadership Lessons from Women in Construction, a space to connect, share, and start those conversations together.