Meet Karen Holden
Occupation: CEO
Organization: Providence
BRAC Involvement: Business Development Advisory Committee Member
What does your organization do?
Providence is an engineering, environmental, and disaster recovery firm. We believe “if you’re not growing, you’re dying,” so our core focus is to provide turnkey engineering, environmental, planning, and mitigation solutions for our clients, allowing them to focus on their growth and development.
What are some advantages of being located/doing business in the Capital Region?
The Baton Rouge Area is home to a significant array of industry, as well as the regulatory agencies governing their operations. This proximity allows us convenient access which helps us develop strong relationships with both our clients and their governing agencies. The Capital City is also home to our flagship university, which provides continuous access to talent.
Why did you decide to invest in BRAC?
Providence’s brand promise from day one was to, “Provide for the Future…”. Our investment in BRAC is a mutually-beneficial medium that allows Providence to support the economic development of the Capital Region, to collaborate with the business community, and to make our community a more desirable area to live, work, and play. Providence also supports BRAC in early discussions with potential major-scale industrial projects to help them understand regulatory options and timeframes to demonstrate the nine-parish region is a solid environment for investment.
What would you say to companies contemplating joining BRAC?
BRAC brings together a diverse mix of business and organizational leaders that collaborate to ensure one goal – to improve where we live and work.
What do you anticipate for your company in the next five years? For the Capital Region?
For Providence: Smart growth, innovation, and investing in our people and processes to ensure we constantly challenge ourselves to develop better ways to serve the needs of our clients.
For the Capital Region: Infrastructure improvements that will improve quality of life and aid in attracting smart economic opportunities for a multitude of stakeholders. BRAC is an investor-driven organization leading economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area. BRAC’s investor base includes small businesses, midsize firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as other individuals and organizations.
Each month, BRAC highlights one of its investors in the Investor Spotlight. To learn more about becoming an investor, visit the Join BRAC page or schedule a meeting with BRAC’s Investor Development and Relations team.