Women make up just 11.2 percent of the construction industry’s workforce. Yet more women than ever are entering the trades, project management, and leadership roles. For generations, women have also served in critical project support positions that keep construction offices running. Whether they wear a hard hat or not, women are essential to every…
How cultural intelligence reduces friction, strengthens commitment, and protects performance By AMY NARISHKIN, PH.D. For the Illinois Business Journal Most workplace tension doesn’t begin with open conflict. It begins with good intentions that land poorly. After a recent keynote, an executive—let’s call her Simone—emailed me about a dinner with her neighbor’s family. Simone, close in…
By JIM GUSTKE For decades, Plain Old Telephone Service – better known as POTS lines – quietly powered critical communications inside commercial buildings, campuses, plants, and facilities. They connected fire alarms, elevator phones, security panels, and emergency call systems. They were stable, inexpensive, and easy to forget about. That’s exactly the problem now. Across the…
Engineers Week is here, and American Water took some time to recognize engineers for their valuable contributions. An official announcement in observance of the week first noted: “With innovation, expertise, and commitment, engineering teams tackle a variety of issues, advance technology, and help shape a better future for society. Thank you to our American…
By DR. AMY NARISHKIN For the Illinois Business Journal A hard-driving CEO recently asked me a deceptively simple question: “How can I be a better ally for the women on my leadership team?” It’s a question more leaders are asking—and not because they need convincing that advancing women is the “right thing to do.” They’re asking…
St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) is elevating its impact as a thriving hub for business aviation and a key economic engine for the St. Louis region. Located in the communities of Cahokia Heights and the Village of Sauget in southwestern Illinois, the airport serves as the region’s front door for business aviation, supporting more…
By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE IBJ Managing Editor [email protected] As the Illinois Business Journal turned 25, another year has wrapped up, and as we moved toward our quarter century mark, a new chapter had begun for the publication. As the IBJ leaned into its 25th year, what was once a monthly in-print publication became a fully…
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville TRIO Upward Bound’s Ideah Bradley is on a full-circle journey as the newest program data specialist who graduated from the college readiness program as a teen in 2021. Bradley begins her MBA at SIUE in January 2026. Throughout her academic career, she has stayed connected to the TRIO Upward Bound experience.…
By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE Managing Editor, Illinois Business Journal [email protected] When Lisa Schepers joined OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center in March 2021, she stepped into a leadership arena undergoing one of the most disruptive periods in modern health care: The COVID pandemic. Today, as vice president and chief nursing officer, Schepers oversees nursing…
Promise of a new beginning: How your year-end gift builds safety that lasts As the year draws to a close, many of us reflect on what truly matters: safety, stability, and peace. For survivors of domestic violence in the Metro East—Monroe, Randolph, and St. Clair counties—these are not certainties, but goals made possible only by…
