To celebrate Women in Construction week, Midwest Real Estate News is profiling some of the many women who have built thriving careers in the commercial construction industry. Today, we highlight the career of Lisa Michna, project administrator in the Mount Prospect, Illinois, office of Nicholas & Associates, a full-service contractor with an additional Midwest office in Milwaukee.
Not all women in construction wear hard hats. Some work their magic behind the scenes, ensuring projects are moving forward efficiently and effectively.
That’s the case with Lisa Michna, a 24-year veteran of Mount Prospect, Illinois-based Nicholas & Associates and, as one of four project administrators at the firm, a backbone of Nicholas’ PK-12 and municipal building construction business.
Michna helped to originate the position of project administrator, a role that’s part air traffic controller, part diplomat and part wrangler of people and data, as she assists project managers in overseeing projects from budgeting through completion.
“My favorite part of the job is the relationship I have with the contractors, owners and architects – being that centerpiece throughout the project,” Michna says. “By seeing the project from all sides, it allows me to identify potential efficiencies to make things go more smoothly.”
Founded in 1978 by the late Nick Papanicholas, Sr., today Nicholas & Associates is run by his children, Nick Jr., Joe, Tony and Gina (Bertolini) Papanicholas. They oversee a family of companies including Nicholas & Associates, Architectural Door Solutions, Wingspan Development Group, Nicholas Sportsplex and Big Fish Hospitality Group. After starting out primarily constructing schools and municipal buildings, the family-run firm now develops and builds mixed-use, multifamily, retail and other commercial projects.
In 2023, Nicholas & Associates was awarded construction management contracts with several new school districts and secured multiple recreation clients. Over the past two decades, it has become a “go-to” for school renovation and construction in Chicago’s suburbs, winning multiple $100 million school referenda contracts.
Michna, who joined the company in 2000, has played an important role in the firm’s growth and success.
“I started as a receptionist,” she says. “We were a very small company with just five people in the office. I would help the project managers in any way I could – figuring out procedures and processes – and it grew into its own job.”
Among other tasks, Michna manages all correspondence, subcontractor relationships and drawing coordination for many of Nicholas’ school district clients. She oversees all close-out documentation for clients and the architects, including certificates of insurance, warranties and operations and maintenance manuals, and accurately prepares contracts between Nicholas & Associates and tradespeople.
Michna responds to local town or village officials’ requests for data, such as labor quotas; creates timelines; handles billing; and works directly with schools that are clients, answering questions and keeping them up to date on project status and required documents. She also tracks and collects submittals, ensuring that everything from the lighting fixtures and carpet colors to the mechanicals are as specified, and as intended.
Michna likes being involved with public projects like schools, whether it’s a ground-up construction or renovation project – because they contribute to the local community.
“Not everyone thinks about the teams making these buildings a reality, they just see the final product. But I appreciate that we do it, and do it well,” she said.
“Another project I’m really looking forward to is a new ice arena in Rosemont,” she adds. “That’s one I’ll be driving by every day on the way to work and will keep my eye on!”
The ice arena built by Nicholas in Mount Prospect is beautiful and one of the most highly regarded in Illinois, she added.
Her advice for women and others wanting to get into the business?
“It’s a very commonsense business, and it’s easy to learn if you’re willing to put in the time. Then, you can go anywhere with it,” she said. “You need patience and a tough skin because you’re dealing with a lot of different types of people. But at the end of the day, to be part of a project from the budgeting and billing and follow something all the way through to completion is very rewarding.”