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Built to Lead 2026 Women’s Summit – Power, Progress & Presence in the Built Environment: Break Out Session 2: Concept to Capital

This panel will explore the development of Franklin Cummings Tech’s new campus in Boston as a real-world case study in how complex construction projects come together. Attendees will gain insight into the full lifecycle of a project—from initial concept and financing through design, construction, and delivery—and the critical roles played by owners, developers, designers, contractors, and other partners along the way.

The discussion will highlight how collaboration drives success, and where breakdowns can occur. Panelists will share lessons learned, including the risks of bringing key players—like architects and designers—into the process too late, and why early involvement from day one can lead to better outcomes in cost, design, and execution. Ultimately, the session will provide a clear, practical look at how aligned teams turn vision into reality.

Featured panelists:

Gail Sullivan, Studio G Architects, Managing Principal, Studio G Architects

Gail Sullivan founded Studio G Architects in 1993 with a clear conviction: architecture can play a major role in serving the public good. As Managing Principal of the women-owned, sustainability-driven firm, she has spent three decades creating places of purpose — housing, schools, civic buildings, and community facilities — that advance social equity and environmental performance across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, expanding the practice into a 25-person firm.

Before architecture, Gail spent a decade as a human rights and environmental activist, a foundation that still shapes how the firm engages communities and approaches design. Her work at Franklin Cummings Tech exemplifies the firm's approach: deeply collaborative, technically ambitious, and rooted in the community it serves. Gail is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

 

Sheryce Hearns, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dellbrook|JKS

Sheryce Hearns is a seasoned leader in economic and business development with extensive experience advancing equity-focused initiatives across the public and private sectors. During her tenure with the City of Boston under the Menino and Walsh administrations, she led impactful programs to close economic and educational opportunity gaps for minority residents and minority- and women-owned businesses. Notably, she coordinated the City’s 2020 Disparity Study, which informed new procurement goals and policy reforms to increase opportunities for minority-owned businesses. In recognition of her leadership in the construction industry, she was honored in 2022 by Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston’s Inspectional Services Department.

Currently, Sheryce serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Dellbrook|JKS, where she is the first minority woman to be appointed to an executive role. She leads efforts to foster an inclusive culture across the organization and its project sites throughout Massachusetts. In 2025, she was awarded the DEI Impact Award by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) for her continued leadership and influence in advancing diversity in the industry.

 

Michelle Volpe, The Property & Casualty Initiative, President, The Property and Casualty Initiative (PCI)

Michelle Volpe leads The Property and Casualty Initiative (PCI) as the President of the $85 million investment fund that mobilizes capital from member Property & Casualty insurance companies to fuel transformative community development across Massachusetts. Since its inception in 1999, PCI has delivered over $575 million in financing through more than 300 flexible, community-focused loans, driving affordable housing, uplifting minority- and women-owned businesses, sparking economic development, and strengthening critical nonprofit organizations that form the backbone of vibrant, growing communities throughout the state.

Michelle joined PCI in 2022, bringing more than three decades of experience as a bold advocate for equitable access to capital and inclusive economic growth.

Michelle holds a BA with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Scholar, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

 

Natasha Espada, Founding Principal , Studio ENÉE

Natasha Espada, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, is the founder and Principal of STUDIO ENÉE architects, a diverse woman and minority firm in Boston dedicated to design, equity, and environment. She has over 30 years of design and construction experience with cultural, civic, higher education, housing, and commercial clients. Natasha was the 2020 President of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA)/AIA and co-chair of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice Task Force. In addition to practice, Natasha was an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University and a design critic/lecturer at Harvard GSD, MIT, Wentworth, Princeton, Roger Williams, UF, MassArt, Yale, Auburn University, and the BAC. Natasha is the current chair of the Town of Needham's Planning Board. She is a graduate of the University of Florida, holds a Master’s degree in architecture from the University of Virginia with a certificate in American Urbanism, and, in 2021, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wentworth Institute of Technology.

 

Moderated by:

Jackie Cornog, Chief of Staff to the President, Franklin Cummings Tech

Jackie Cornog has spent 24 years at Franklin Cummings Tech, where she began her career as an English professor, later served as Dean of Students, and currently serves as Chief of Staff to the President. Most recently, she coordinated the institution’s campus relocation to its new purpose-built facility in Nubian Square, gaining hands-on experience in project management within the built environment. Jackie brings a systems-level perspective on leadership, collaboration, and institutional change to this conversation.