Her Story
About Nour
I've been working as a project manager and urban planner for about 6 years now, and what really led me to this field is my love for developing and redeveloping communities, making them more diverse, and pushing toward a brighter future. Currently, I work with Palm Beach County, where my day-to-day involves reviewing projects that get submitted to the county, making sure everything is consistent with our regulations and requirements. I write staff reports and present them to the board to ensure projects move forward smoothly. Some of my proudest moments are when the board says pass, because we work so hard on these projects, sometimes for more than a year, and when we hear that motion to pass, it's so worth it. I originally started with a minor in architecture in California, but when I got more involved in the studies, I realized what I really wanted was to do urban planning and design because I wanted to be more involved with the community overall, not just having a direct relationship with the actual building. So I moved to Florida and earned my bachelor's in urban design and planning. I love participating in neighborhood meetings and seminars for different municipalities, meeting with neighbors to hear about their concerns and issues, what they're looking for the community to get better, what they want us to improve and work on. That's kind of my favorite thing to do, really.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nour
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The first thing I say is it's a tough field for women to grow, but it is doable. We get underestimated a lot, which is nothing surprising, but when you look at who's kicking ass, it's really women in this field because we get the job done. So what I usually tell them is keep your head up and keep moving. It's baby steps along the way, and before you know it, you'll start walking too.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges right now are really around development. There's not a lot of pieces here in Palm Beach County that need to be developed, so it's a lot of redeveloping of old properties. Politics is another challenge, and the economy too. The world right now is just really, really different than what it was a few years back, so it all leads to different challenges that we face on a daily basis with these projects.
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