Today on Extraordinary Women Radio I am so excited to share this interview with Wendy Leone - a partner in a steel & construction company – Mt. Hood Steel & Wood – building high rises in Portland and across the Northwest.

Wendy is a friend of my son Josh, who I had the opportunity to meet last summer when I was visiting. I fell in love with Wendy the moment I met her, and you will too!

In our interview, she tells the story of how she and her brothers started this company from the seedlings of a dream, and what’s it’s like to be a woman in the very male dominated steel industry.

If you drive around the thriving city of Portland, many of the rising skyscrapers you see are being built by Mt. Hood Steel & Wood. And not only is Wendy a make-it-happen business owner in the steel industry… She’s also an incredible rock climber and we dig into some of the lessons that climbing teaches her, and how they parallel running a $1 million+ steel company!

Wendy is an advocate for more women stepping into the construction industry! She shares, "Women can make a really good living being a welder, electrician or plumber with great benefits. Women are strong enough and tough enough to be out there. And from my experience, women’s pay in the construction world is equal to men's." That was exciting news to me!

Wendy's story from humble beginnings to all she's doing today is inspiring and uplifting!

For those of you tuning in – from Portland – mark your calendars and come meet both Wendy and I on July 18th, when I’ll be speaking at the Portland eWoman Network monthly meeting.
Fear isn’t a bad thing. I enjoy pushing myself past what I am comfortable with. ~Wendy Leone
To learn more about Mt. Hood Steel & Wood, watch for their new web site set to launch soon or follow them on Facebook. You can follow Wendy on LinkedIn.