Iris

Iris Harrell, GC, CKD, CBD, CGBP, CGPA

 
 Iris Harrell never dreamed she would found a hugely successful design + build remodeling company. She never even suspected she might be handy around the house. Raised in North Carolina and Virginia, Iris worked in the tobacco fields as a child. “I grew up in a house with two books — the Bible and the Sears Roebuck catalog,” says Iris, half smiling. Iris obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies at Mary Washington College. While pursuing her Master’s Degree in education at Virginia Commonwealth University, she began her teaching career, first as a high school teacher in Richmond,Va., and then as a seventh grade teacher on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Iris was the first member of her extended family to obtain a college degree. “When I received a second one, they thought it was one too many,” she laughs. A Builder is BornIt was her life partner, Ann Benson, who introduced her to her true talent and passion. “Ann presented me with an electric drill to hang pots and pans in our home in Dallas,” Iris beams.

 This small project opened Iris to a new world. “It was very gratifying to be able to see what I had done with a drill, hammer, and screwdriver,” she says. “Being an academic, I had never done work that produced immediate visual results.”

 She proceeded to take every course available in home design and construction, eventually earning her general contractor’s license. But when she ventured out to find employment in the field, she was consistently turned away because of her gender and age (34 at the time). So she started her own company, producing small jobs for neighbors, relatives and friends in Texas.

 After relocating from Texas to Menlo Park, California, Iris was again faced with the challenge her gender presented. “Potential employers were very concerned that the subcontractors I would be in charge of would not take me seriously because of my gender,” she explains.

 The Founding of Harrell Remodeling

In 1985, Iris decided to do the unexpected, opening her own remodeling business in California. Iris’ values and ethics have translated into a highly respected, award-winning design + build remodeling company.

 A Leader and Teacher

Iris is a regular speaker on both the local and national level with a variety of both business and trade associations.  She’s been invited to speak to the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) conventions, and most recently at the Women in Leadership Conference held at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.  

Iris’ personal  and business awards are many and varied.  Her lifelong commitment to community service, education and philanthropy have long been recognized and most recently she was invited to participate in the American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley 2012.  American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley (ALF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better Silicon Valley community by joining and strengthening leaders to serve the common good.  Iris’ leadership is recognized throughout the business community and in 2011 she was awarded with the Women’s Initiative Leadership Award and both she and our company were recognized by Inc. Magazine as “one of the top 50 places to work” in the United States.  In 2009 she was given the Fred Case Entrepreneur of the Year Award (the first woman to receive this award in its history).  And in years past, the San Francisco Bay Area Marilyn Thurau award, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Athena Award, San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal Woman of Distinction, Woman Contractor of the Year from Women Construction Owners & Executives, USA; Bay Area Woman Entrepreneur of the Year from the San Francisco Chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners); and the Bay Area Outstanding Business Woman from the American Business Women’s Association.

 For the two decades that Iris has led Harrell Remodeling, she has been able to meet and exceed the needs of her 500-plus clients, and has become known as one of the best executives on the Peninsula.

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© 2012 Harrell Remodeling, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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