Linda Thomas-Mobley

Sixteen years ago, Linda Thomas-Mobley led the construction of the Olympic Village at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

The job fell into her lap after she was hired as a volunteer on the Olympic Committee, but turned into a full-time gig when the director of construction, her boss, was fired.

“It was supposed to be a boondoggle for free tickets,” joked Thomas-Mobley, who decided to cut her hours at the real estate law firm where she was working just to be a volunteer at the 1996 Olympic Games.