Her Story
About Elsie
Elsie Barbosa is a Senior Executive Assistant at Suffolk Epic Technologies, the venture capital arm of Suffolk Construction, based in the Boston area. She has spent the last nine years working as a senior executive assistant and recently joined her current company after applying since 2017, drawn by its reputation and community contributions in her hometown of Chelsea. Her main areas of expertise are management and strategic analysis and alignment. Elsie holds a Bachelor's of Science from Salem State University, which she completed in 2017, and maintains certifications as a certified bookkeeper and certified paralegal. She attributes her success to perseverance through closed doors and opportunities not given, which aligned her with the right companies, mentors, and coworkers to build a strong professional network. In her work, she values integrity, honesty, and transparency, and she is motivated by being a first-generation degree holder from an immigrant family so that her daughter and family can take pride in her leadership roles.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elsie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to perseverance. Every closed door and every opportunity that I wasn't given was really just a process of aligning and being brought into the right companies and mentors and co-workers that I would professionally thrive with. It has allowed me to build a nice network of people as well.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice that I've ever received is to stay true to myself while I'm chasing my dreams, just because it makes it easier to actually accomplish what it is that you want to accomplish. Sometimes success is a part of the plan, but it might not be the success that you actually want, so making sure that as much as you want to be successful, that you're also being happy and actually attaining your goals and your dreams.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice that I would give her is to definitely not be afraid to speak up and ask questions, and to be that voice in the room. A lot of times we're usually the people that are more quieter, and we're observing and we're picking up information, but building that confidence to speak up and share really, really helps you advance in your career.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are building those strong relationships in such a fast-paced, changing environment. The players, the people, the contractors that you're always working with, and being able to pick up and start brand new relationships very quickly. Also keeping that balance between work and life and pacifying that mom guilt so that you don't feel guilty for chasing your professional dreams.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me in my work are definitely integrity, honesty, and transparency. It really comes out in all of the relationships that I build. On a personal level, what I do for work is something that not just that I'm proud of, but that also my daughter will be proud of. I'm a first gen, my family is a family of immigrants, so I'm the first to attain a degree, and it's important that I remember and stay true to the people that I do this for, which is my family and my daughter.
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