JOAN BIALEK
Second-generation Washingtonian Joan Bialek has been working since she was 8—her father owned a chain of pharmacies in the area and she grew up lending a hand. She tells us she stayed with her dad's company after college and starting a family, eventually growing the medical supply side of the biz. Later, she sold the company and in the '90s, started Bialek Environments as a Herman Miller dealer for hospital clients. She became (and still is) the manufacturer’s largest healthcare dealer in the US. The firm—also a dealer of the revolutionary DIRTT system—is now one of DC’s fastest-growing companies and now serves government and commercial office clients, too. The secret to Joan’s success? “If something makes sense and you’re passionate, go for it.”
