2009 40 Under Forty: Roberta Brien
Roberta Brien
Age: 37
Title: Senior Project Manager
Company: Worcester Business Development Corp.
Company location: Worcester
Residence: Paxton
College: Westfield State College
Career highlights: I am the senior project manager for the WBDC, in charge of the day-to-day operations for our development and fee for service projects. From the beginning of a project to the end, the project department is responsible for the agreed upon outcome, whether it be a sale, a purchase, or the development of a building.
I began my career as a transportation planner for a regional planning agency in southeastern Massachusetts where I learned the importance of transportation and traffic to the vitality and success of a project. I later began work as a commercial real estate agent on Cape Cod and learned all the ways a deal can fall apart! In 1999 I began working for the commonwealth as a project manager for the real estate department under the Division of Capital Asset Management. It was this experience that truly taught me both sides of a real estate transaction and how to negotiate for all parties involved.
Community involvement: I am a member of the Paxton Zoning Board of Appeals and a volunteer in my son’s pre-school at the Early Childhood Center at the Jefferson School in Holden. Cliché as though it may sound, getting involved is the only way to cause change. It is also a good way to meet other people who are interested enough in change to contribute their time and talents. I enjoy most the feeling of being involved in something greater than my own interests and being able to say I helped rather than I hoped.
Biggest professional success: Some would say a bit controversial, but I was part of a team that helped write and implement legislation that allowed state land to be sold by public auction. The legislation allowed for property that was unused and non-taxable to become available, saleable, and productive. Some of the land was used to create housing, some became the location of small businesses and some benefitted abutters to protect their investments. The commonwealth benefitted by increasing its revenue and decreasing assets that had been on the books for decades.
Dream job: I think I would like to be a travel writer. Based on my travel experiences, I would fill the niche of what not to do and how not to get there.
Businessperson she admires most and why: Katharine Graham. I remember reading her biography soon after it came out and being impressed with the life she was born into and the life she chose to live. She was educated, she was a wife and mother, she learned the newspaper business from the ground up and she earned the respect of the company and the industry she eventually led. Anyone can be put into a position of leadership but not everyone is someone you want to follow.
If you weren’t doing the job you’re doing now, what would you do? For a while I considered teaching college. Now that I have two children, I clearly see the benefits of teaching and of good teachers.
Favorite movie: Neil Simon’s Murder by Death. It’s an old comedy that would probably never be made today but it makes me laugh no matter what else is going on. They just don’t make good comedies anymore.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments