Making black History: E. Holdings, inc., lower hill redevelopment M/WBE Consultant

To celebrate Black History Month we are highlighting Black owned businesses that have made significant contributions to the Lower Hill Redevelopment (LHR) project and Hill District community! Today we'd like to recognize E. Holdings, Inc.

With roots in both the Hill District and economic development, E. Holdings has been engaged as the Minority  Woman Owned Business (M/WBE) consultant for the LHR. In that capacity, the team has focused on building bridges between the development team - Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG), F.N.B. Corporation, Clay Cove Capital, Pittsburgh Penguins - and the minority and women-owned business community to support the inclusion of local, disadvantaged contractors and service providers in this transformational project. The E. Holdings team has reached out to hundreds of M/WBE firms from LHR database to understand the capacity, need for resources, and personal goals of each firm.

Janai Williams Smith, Executive Vice-President and Managing Partner of E. Holdings has played an instrumental role in increasing the transparency around inclusionary strategies employed by the LHR team. From a 2021 URA interview, Mrs. Williams Smith states why her work is important:  
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"As a Hill District based business, owned by current and former residents, we are committed to meaningfully contributing to our community. We are passionate about connecting minority and women-owned businesses to fruitful projects that can change or grow their business. How and who helps rebuild and reconnect the Lower Hill matters." 

In addition to supporting overarching Community Collaboration Implementation Plan (CCIP) goals as EVP/Managing Partner of E. Holdings, Mrs. Williams Smith also appears on an episode of Wealth Building Wednesdays: Diversifying Construction Procurement Services where she discusses her experience with the procurement process. 

To find out more about E. Holdings click here. For LHR MWBE opportunities - jobs and trainings - follow @firstsourcecenter