Sandra Wilkin
Founder and President of Bradford Companies

Sandra Wilkin has built Bradford Construction Corporation into one of the leading women-owned construction firms – earning her the title of “a hard hat with style” from Crain’s New York Business.

On the vanguard of the construction industry, Sandra Wilkin has been a passionate advocate for the advancement of women, minorities and small businesses in the industry. Ms. Wilkin was responsible for the “disparity study” funded by the New York City council, which provided objective and scientific proof of the need to direct construction dollars, subcontracting opportunities and technical support to M/WBE firms.

As a founder and President of the Women Builders Council, she has been involved in advancing the role of women in the public and private sectors of the construction and building fields. She developed the Council’s campaign “to break the concrete ceiling” for women. Her involvement and that of the Council has had a strong impact on public policy. A popular speaker on women and small business issues in the industry, she often serves as a mentor and strategic advisor to emerging firms.

In recognition of her achievements, she has received numerous awards and is the recipient of the Women Business Enterprise of the Year Award from the New York City School Construction Authority; the Arthur Pearl Roth Trailblazer Award from the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors; the Progressive Democrat’s Political Association’s Women’s History Month Recognition; recognition by Professional Women in Construction; the General Contractors Association Award for work on PS 69 in Queens; the Luis Munoz Marin Elementary Schools’ Partners in Education Award; and admittance to the Kingsborough Community College Wall of Fame.

She was only the second woman to ever receive the Lubavitch Youth Organization’s Woman of Valor Award for her “Commitment and Dedication to Helping People of all Ages, Regardless of Race, Religion, Color or Creed, Find Meaning and Direction in Life.” (The first woman to receive this award was the late Golda Meir.) Further, her company was honored for its participation in a unique alliance with the New York Building Congress, building trades and union apprenticeship programs that provided much needed renovations to Peter’s Place, Manhattan’s only drop-in-center for elderly homeless. This project won both the “Humanitarian Award” and the “Best of 2000” award from New York Construction Magazine. Ms. Wilkin serves on the Board of Governors of the New York Building Foundation and former board member of the New York Building Congress. She was the first woman to serve on the Executive Board of the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors.

She is a past member of the Contractor’s Committee for both the City of New York and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Among Ms. Wilkin’s efforts to give back to the community was her work in helping to create the first African American Designer Showcase in Harlem to provide broader exposure for emerging designers. She has also served on the Board of Directors for the Crohns and Colitis Foundation.

A Brooklyn native, she is a graduate of Kingsborough Community College who went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business and Public Administration from New York University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hunter College at City University of New York and a Construction Management certificate from NYU.