Nicolette (Niki) Gaesser

Project Manager Trainee - Development Group, Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.

Niki Gaesser is a Project Manager Trainee within the Development Group’s New Store Design team at Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. She is responsible for the overall management of new and expansion Food Market projects through collaboration with groups companywide and beyond. Niki also holds the roles of Interior Designer for the Buffalo Division and Project BIM Coordinator, leading the coordination and management of information exchange between all parties within a project’s lifecycle.

With a background in Architecture, she combines her love for design with her passion for her community by volunteering with Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity and newly serving on their Construction Committee. She is also a participant in CANstruction Rochester, promoting greater awareness of hunger issues in the Rochester Community while spotlighting the design and construction industry.

Niki is proud to serve on the Executive Committee of the Rochester Women’s Council Board of Directors, fulfilling their mission to support women through community service by providing opportunities for personal and professional development. She co-chairs the Young Women of Distinction Scholarship Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding high school seniors throughout the Greater Rochester Area and surrounding counties for their extraordinary commitment to their community & leadership among their peers.

She also is a Dale Carnegie graduate and long-time supporter of the United Way and hopeful participant in their 2023 Emerging Leaders Development Program come November.

Jennifer Gillen

Vice President, Environmental Operations Manager, LaBella Associates, DPC

Jennifer (Jen) Gillen is a Vice President and Environmental Operations Manager at LaBella Associates and a licensed Professional Geologist in New York. After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geological Sciences, Jen joined LaBella as an intern in 2009. In just eight years, she was named a Vice President, making her the youngest, first openly gay, and second female employee to be named a VP at LaBella at that time. Today, Jen is an employee owner and leads a team of over 230 professionals. Jen provides expertise for the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield properties. She helps teams navigate complicated environmental problems and regulations with the goal of redeveloping brownfield sites for affordable and supportive housing.

In addition to the day-to-day, Jen is a founding member of LaBella’s Inclusion Council, runs the Affordable Housing Committee, and has led LaBella’s team for the Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity’s Rochester Women Build program for 11 years. She is also a member of the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast and a founding member of the Carbon Forestry Trust.

Jen lives in Webster with her wife and two children. In her down time, Jen writes fiction romantic comedies from an LGBTQ+ angle.