December 20, 2021

After a long career in property management, our former client and partner Sandra Duran is breathing new life into a historic campus at St. Mark's Schools. Hear what our own Nick Derr had to say about working with Sandra from this snippet below from the American Builders Quarterly article.

Duran can hardly remember life outside of the construction industry. Her father and mother started a small roofing and maintenance company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she was just nine years old. Soon, the young Duran was shoveling gravel for her father’s roofing projects into small buckets. As the business grew, Duran grew along with it. She learned to read blueprints, estimate projects, assist with payroll, and clean the office. When she was just 18 years old, Duran joined the carpenters’ union, took an apprenticeship, and later managed large projects.

But Duran wanted more. She was drawn to New England and dreamed of studying mechanical engineering at Northeastern University, so at age 21, she moved to Boston with two suitcases, two cats, and $600. Duran landed a job at a small design-build firm, enrolled in college, and set out on a new path.

In her early roles, Duran created and maintained large CPM schedules, administered corporate safety programs, negotiated contracts, and managed projects. In 1994, she started her long tenure with the City of Boston. As a construction manager, Duran was responsible for the implementation of a critical lead abatement and rehabilitation program.

“We were working with homeowners to change their living environment in safe and responsible ways,” she recalls. “It was really gratifying work and I had the chance to step into larger leadership roles.” Soon, Duran was creating policies, recruiting contractors, and working with agencies like HUD and the EPA on large environmental and remediation projects. She later managed the city’s tax foreclosed and surplus property.

After many years in management, Duran longed to return to her roots and get her hands dirty again. That chance came when a former colleague recruited her to the Perkins School for the Blind, where Duran spent three years as director of facilities and property management. The role gave Duran a view into congregant living and serving individuals with unique needs.

Nicholas Derr, project development leader of CannonDesign’s facility optimization solutions team, recalls his collaboration with Duran during an assessment of Perkins.

By 2018, Duran was moving and looking for a new position. She heard about an opening at St. Mark’s School, and when she drove by the 200-acre preparatory school in Southborough, she knew it was a perfect fit. “The school’s leaders wanted someone they could truly collaborate with,” Duran says. “As I looked at the beautiful campus, I saw many ways I could use my life’s experience to help make an immediate impact.”

Read the full article from ABQ online.