Barbara Durante has built a career that spans public accounting, small business ownership, and now construction finance advisory, and somehow found time to lead across six industry organizations along the way. As a Senior Manager at Grassi and Vice President of Professional Women in Construction (NY Chapter), Barbara brings more than thirty years of accounting expertise to a sector she's deeply passionate about: helping construction companies understand their numbers so they can grow with confidence. In this episode, Barbara talks about how she found her way into construction, why community-building is just as important as technical expertise, and what it really means to show up for an industry, not just professionally, but personally. She's warm, candid, and the kind of connector that makes every room feel smaller and more welcoming.