Women taking on high-profile roles at Cincinnati's Banks project

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Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Lucy May Senior Staff Reporter

In everything from design work to engineering to scheduling the construction itself, women are playing critical roles in building the Banks on Cincinnati’s riverfront.

Big-ticket local construction projects have for years employed women as laborers and women-owned firms as subcontractors. But industry insiders say they’re hard-pressed to recall a project with as many women in key roles on the development team itself as the nearly $1 billion Banks project.

“I find that encouraging because everybody brings kind of a fresh look at things, and that’s important to get the best solutions,” said John Deatrick, the Banks project executive who works for Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati. “There’s a willingness to look beyond what’s typically been done.”

Among the women helping to create the Banks development is Patti Neal, a West Side native and Oak Hills High School graduate who is vice president of development at Carter. Carter is the Atlanta-based firm developing the Banks in partnership with the Dawson Co., also based in Atlanta. Laura Griffin, a development manager at Carter, has been helping craft a plan for the Banks since the firm first got involved in the project. And Tamara Kimble, vice president of strategic marketing and external affairs at Dawson, is point person for the project’s inclusion goals.

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