Helping others to build housing, she found home

Each month "Transitions" profiles an individual who has made significant changes in his or her work life and highlights the techniques used to make the changes.

On the exposed brick wall of Lark Jurev Palermo's Summer Street office in South Boston hangs a simple painting of a clapboard wood-frame house.

The painting, by her great aunt, is of the house Palermo grew up in Glastonbury, Conn., and she put it there to remind her of the comforts and advantages she had growing up in her own home.

Now, in her role as chief executive of Habitat for Humanity, Greater Boston, which builds housing for the poor, Palermo's job is to provide those same comforts and advantages for those who could not afford them.

Each of the low-income recipients, or "homesteaders" as Habitat calls them, has to meet qualifications, including putting in 300 hours of "sweat equity" to help build their home and taking 100 hours of classes on home ownership.

Much of the rest of the construction labor is provided by volunteers, and many of the materials are donated. Even mortgage and property management services are made available to Habitat by local businesses.

"It's so exciting, and incredibly inspirational," said Palermo, clearly passionate about her new role, which she stepped into seven months ago.

Real estate has been a constant in Palermo's 30-year career, but her career path has been anything but a straight line.

After graduating from Boston University with a bachelor's in public communications in 1974, she worked in Hartford at a beer makers' trade group as a regulatory representative. The work environment there, coupled with the encouragement of one of her college professors, stimulated Palermo's interest in the law.

She returned to Boston with her husband-to-be and by 1982 they had both completed law degrees. She eventually landed a job with Hale and Dorr ( now WilmerHale), which, she said, had "the best real estate practice in town."

In six years there she worked her way up to partner. She also gave birth to two sons during this time and soon came to a realization: ``It was not possible to devote enough time to practice law effectively at the firm and to be the kind of involved parent that I wanted to be."

Fortunately for Palermo, a door opened. Former Hale and Dorr partner William F. Weld had been elected governor in 1990, and while on maternity leave in 1991, another partner at the firm asked her about working in the new administration. She became general counsel in the agency that oversees state public building projects and real estate transactions -- what is now the Department of Capital Asset Management.

Within two years, Palermo was promoted to commissioner, charged with directing 200 employees, an annual operating budget of $20 million, and capital budget of $200 million.

``It was challenging and complicated, and I was required to learn a lot of new things," Palermo said. Demanding as it was, the position gave her more time to spend with her young boys, which became even more important after she divorced in 1994.

By 1997, Weld was out, the Cellucci administration was in, and with the new governor building his own team, Palermo returned to private practice at Peabody & Arnold. But the former agency administrator soon realized that ``something was missing."

``I missed being in a management role," she said. ``I also missed the feeling of being rewarded when I was in public service, knowing that my work was benefiting the public."

Palermo felt she might find what she was looking for in a nonprofit role. She became general counsel of Community Builders in Boston, a nonprofit housing developer, with a staff of seven lawyers to manage. ``It was closer, but still not ideal," said Palermo. She wanted to run an organization.

Palermo ``then did something risky." A single parent with two children to support at home , she left her job without having a new one.

``But," she said, ``as I jumped off the cliff into the ocean and began swimming for the far shore, I had three lifeboats: my law degree, an enormous network of contacts, and a career adviser," which had been arranged through Community Builders.

Palermo had one more crucial ingredient: ``I had confidence in myself." Her adviser, she said, ``told me to stick with it, and even reassured me, when I turned down a job, that I would get what I want."

When Palermo learned Habitat for Humanity was looking for a CEO, she knew it was exactly what she was looking for. She made contact with the organization through a board member she knew, interviewed, and was offered the position.

``The fulfillment I get from this job is above and beyond what I expected. It is the best of all the jobs I have had," Palermo said.

Palermo is making less now than she did as a law partner 15 years ago. ``Sometimes I envy those who are going on exotic vacations," she said. ``But I made certain choices, and I'm comfortable with the choices I made.

``Having children definitely focuses you on what is important in life," she said. ``Time is an extremely valuable resource. For me, what is important is making enough money to provide a home for myself and my children, and at the same time having a career that keeps me challenged and engaged. I've achieved that."

If you have a career transition story you would be willing to share, please e-mail transitions@bostonworks.com. Include your name, phone number, and a brief description of your career change.