Rita Ferris did not grow up imagining a career in lumber and building materials, much less becoming the first woman to lead the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association. Looking back, she laughs at the idea that any of it was carefully planned. “Absolutely not,” Ferris says. “I think my career in the industry started the same way most people’s career in our industry starts. And it was a complete accident.” Her professional life began in the New York State Legislature, where she discovered something that would quietly shape everything that followed. “I fell in love with the legislative process. I couldn’t believe you could have a job where they pay you to help people. And I really loved that.” From there came the New York State Association of Realtors, then an opportunity with the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association. Ferris knew little about the industry. What convinced her was the people. “I did meet the people before I even interviewed for the job,” she recalls. “And I thought, these seem like really great people. I would love to know more about it.”
“We really needed to be agile and turn things around and change our whole course of action in terms of how we’re going to serve the members.” The NRLA responded by bringing the supply chain together, strengthening communication and helping members navigate the crisis. Years later, COVID would demand that same adaptability.
“Every time something bad happens, there’s always an opportunity,” Ferris says.
Those experiences strengthened a philosophy she still carries today.
“Viewing obstacles as opportunities is critical to our future,” she says. “And that doesn’t mean ignoring the problem, but it means acknowledging it, figuring it out, and then spending all of your energy on what the solution is.”
It is a philosophy closely tied to the NRLA itself.
The association’s mission is to “unite, represent, train, and lead independent building materials suppliers in the Northeast United States.” Ferris says its purpose has endured for more than a century because the principle behind it is timeless.
“So that’s how I fell in. Total fluke.”
“The point of this association is bringing people together to achieve as a group what cannot be achieved alone.” —Rita Ferris
Thirty years later, that accidental beginning has become a career defined by service, resilience and the belief that strong industries are built when people solve problems together. Ferris joined the NRLA in its legislative department and held several roles before becoming president in 2007. Almost immediately, leadership stopped being theoretical.
Independent lumber yards and building material suppliers, she says, are rooted in the communities they serve. “When you work with a local yard, they know your local building codes, your inspectors, which products are going to hold up the best in your area,” Ferris says.
The Great Recession arrived.
“The housing market dropped like 80 percent and the members were in a crisis,” she says.
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