Right Place, Challenging Times

When the COVID-19 pandemic steamrolled across the United States, overwhelming hospitals and pushing medical personnel beyond exhaustion, Barbara Burnette (EMDC ‘19) was in a position to help.  

Despite having no prior medical training, Burnette volunteered to aid her employer, Aspirus, a non-profit Wisconsin-based healthcare system, by assisting the nurses and respiratory therapists turn COVID-infected patients who were having trouble breathing while resting on their backs.  

“It helped me to feel like I was able to make a difference in a situation that we non medical staff felt we had little ability to help,” said Burnette, whose actual job title is the director of system facilities planning and construction management. “It was amazing to see the medical professionals in action and all that they did to save every patient they could.”   

Without Northwestern Engineering’s Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program, Burnette said she would not have been in that right place at the toughest of times.  

“The EMDC education had everything to do with me starting my job at Aspirus,” said Burnette, who joined Aspirus shortly before graduation. “Without this degree I would not have been ready to take on such a role.”   

Now in different times, Burnette’s days are spent doing the role for which she was hired – leading a team of project managers and project coordinators responsible for the healthcare system’s capital projects. She also works with real estate acquisitions, divestment, and brand development to ensure that every new facility has the same look and feel.  

Burnette was nearly two decades into a professional career in interior design when she decided to further her education. When she discovered the EMDC program, she said she knew she had found the right place.  

“The EMDC program was a perfect fit,” she said. “The classes were what I needed to elevate what I had learned in my career, and it was easy to see that it would take me to the next level.”  

Still, it was not until after classes started that she realized exactly how important the EMDC program was going to be to her future. Before then, her decision to go back to school had more to do with checking a box than career advancement.   

“Once I was involved in the classes, it was easy to see that the program was going to bring so much more,” she said. “The professors were encouraging, not just during their classes but also at any time afterward.”  

Because of that professorial commitment and the program’s structure, Burnette was able to fill in her skill gaps and become a more well-rounded professional.  

Once she landed the job at Aspirus — and was free from her COVID-era responsibilities — Burnette said she found herself using her EMDC lessons daily to lead her team, most notably what she learned about negotiations, leadership, and communication.  

“The EMDC program taught me to always keep learning,” she said. “Especially useful has been the exercise on how to write to senior leadership and the public when something goes wrong.” 

The focus on always learning was especially crucial when she found herself helping with patient care during the worst of the pandemic. She said it’s a time she looks back on with pride.  

“To actively help during a time when there was so much uncertainty in the world made an impact,” she said. “They were the most challenging, tiring, and unexpected days. It felt surreal and a major accomplishment working together with such a talented group.”