Meet JMT: Insights from Within featuring Lauraine Everson
Discover more about our industry professionals with our new podcast series, Meet JMT: Insights from Within, where we share employee tales, experiences, and inspirations within our organization.
In this week's Meet JMT: Insights from Within podcast, we sat down with Creative Director Lauraine Everson Harman .
To hear Lauraine's audio session, click here!
What inspired you to choose your professional career?
My inspiration came from my father and JMT engineers, actually. I have always loved art and being creative. I learned that from my father. He was a professionally trained artist who taught how to draw and paint. He used realism, so everything looked as realistic and perfect as possible. And that’s what I did, too. Then, when I ended up at JMT, I learned a different technical approach to art from our engineers.
When I started here, I ran blueprints through a big blueprint machine. This was back in 1988. I had a bachelor’s degree in fine art, but I could not find a job as an artist. They called them starving artists back then for a reason. But after answering an ad in the paper, I got a job at JMT. Fred Mirmiran hired me; yes, that’s the M in JMT. And I basically made copies of engineering drawings. Until one day I brought some artwork in, and a few people saw it and told me I should try drawing the plans myself instead of just making copies. So, I took a shot at it, and I ended up loving it. The attention to detail and accuracy were right up my alley. From there, I started doing hand-drawn renderings of our projects. It was the perfect combination.
As computers came along, I learned CADD and taught myself Adobe Photoshop. I realized our graphics could really use some consistency and attention, so I got a second degree in graphic design. I wrote a business plan to grow the team and started focusing on creating more visual consistency across the company.
Long story short, the engineers led me in a technical direction. Combined with my artistic skills, it ended up being the perfect combination for graphic design, where everything follows a set of rules and guidelines. And all of that led me to where I am today as the creative director, managing a team and our brand.
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Can you tell us about a significant project you’ve handled and how it has impacted you, our company, or the architecture, engineering, construction, or technology industries?
There have been many projects in my 35 years that I’ve been proud of; most involve graphics I’ve created for communities to understand our projects. Those were fun and rewarding. But the main thing that really stands out is working directly with Fred Mirmiran, again, the M in JMT, to document and memorialize a culture at JMT. One that has stood the test of time. Fred was the president of JMT for a long time. He brought me into the fold way back when he asked me to create visuals to support the message that he wanted to spread. It was one of caring, giving back, donating, and treating each other and our clients with compassion. I’m not sure he knew it back then, but he established a brand. He established what he wanted JMT to be known for. And I got to help him do it, which was pretty special.
And then, years later, it all came full circle when we fully documented our brand, our values, and who we wanted to be. It all stemmed from what Fred started. He began that culture of caring and showing true personal attention to clients, communities, and each other. He also focused heavily on giving back to the world and to each other. So, when we all decided to sit down and get it on paper and agree on who we were, we pointed back to that culture. And again, memorializing those values and brand was a big accomplishment and not something many firms in this industry were doing at that time. But I believe that effort was a defining moment and a big part of our success. You need that guiding north star to follow, and I helped establish that. Which felt really good. And it all started with the message that Fred Mirmiran wanted to spread. He came up with the JMT logo with the sun's rays coming through the M in JMT. It represents brighter futures, brighter communities, brighter projects, and brighter people. It represents a feeling of JMT doing our part to make the world a better place.
Are there any hobbies or interests outside of work that you feel have influenced your professional journey?
On the personal side, I don’t necessarily have a story about being influenced as much as I do about being treated with respect. As I’ve said, I have spent my entire career journey at JMT. And as a woman in this industry over the past three decades, I have seen a lot of change. Not only am I a woman, but I’m also a gay woman. So, I’ve juggled that along the way, too. But I have never felt that I had to pretend or hide who I am. I also never felt it would hold me back in any way. I am proud to say that JMT helped with that. I was never treated differently; I always felt respected and appreciated for what I brought to the table. It was sometimes a fight to be heard in the right rooms, but eventually, those glass ceilings broke, and I made my way up into a vice president role. Now, we celebrate diversity and inclusion and have an LGBTQIA+ community. It’s been quite a journey to watch over time. And I’m proud to say I was part of that evolution. I’m proud to be a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I’m proud to be a leader at JMT who can mentor and help guide our company into the future.
Meet JMT: Insights from Within is more than just a podcast; it's a celebration of the diverse perspectives that make our industry thrive.
Stay tuned for a captivating exploration of the multifaceted world of architecture, engineering, construction, and technology as told by the voices that shape it.