By Maddy Hayden
Carlsbad Current-Argus, N.M.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Valerie Murrill, owner of “Murrill Electric” has this advice for women interested in Trades, “I’ve seen many talented craftswomen try to fit into the male persona of construction,” she said. “In my opinion, that doesn’t work. Just stay true to yourself.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus, N.M.
Valerie Murrill is a Girl Boss.
Her impressive resume includes being a co-owner of Murrill Electric, one of Carlsbad’s preeminent local businesses, the Carlsbad Department of Development’s first female president and a certified public accountant.
“I have an internal mechanism that makes me set goals,” Murrill said.
And the 58-year-old grandmother of two isn’t finished yet.
After growing up in Idaho, Murrill became a CPA in 1984.
She worked for Westinghouse, then in Aiken, South Carolina, before taking a job as a controller at Carlsbad’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 1991, where Westinghouse was once a contractor.
She and then-husband Bill Murrill started Murrill Electric in 1995.
Though they divorced in 2004, they continue to be business partners.
They’ve since started Pecos Valley Construction in 2011 and erected a huge building to house both businesses on Del Rio in Carlsbad.
Murrill said she owes much of her drive to succeed to her family.
Her grandmother managed apartments in Palm Desert, California, in the 1950s, a time when it was unusual for women to work outside the home.
Murrill also credits her parents for instilling the value of equality in their four daughters.
“They really believed that everyone should be equal, regardless of gender or race,” she said. “Back then, that was different.”
All four of the Murrill sisters graduated college. Murrill said her three siblings have all obtained higher degrees as well.
Murrill said being a woman in a male-dominated fields has presented a variety of challenges.
“All my life, I’ve managed mainly men,” she said.
When she moved to her position at WIPP, she said a male employee made comments to another that he felt uncomfortable working under her.
“When I hear the comment, ‘Well, she’s not going to tell me what to do,’ I realize that they are never going to have the IQ the get past my gender, and understand my value,” Murrill said.
She also said it can be awkward when a male client comes into town, as she worries what taking him out to dinner will project to the outside world.
She encouraged women in the construction business to maintain their individuality.
“I’ve seen many talented craftswomen try to fit into the male persona of construction,” she said. “In my opinion, that doesn’t work. Just stay true to yourself.”
