Women’s Council Café: My Early Days in Construction

Admiring successful women in the construction industry, it is very easy to look at them today and assume their journey has been a breeze, but do not be fooled. With limited role models, finding a path forward is not always obvious, making the journey an interesting and challenging one.

Tune in to the Women’s Council online Café: My Early Days in Construction for a candid conversation with three very successful women; Katharine Czycz, Business Manager at Mitsubishi; Annette Tuttle, Site Superintendent, Morningstar Homes and Brenda Shaw,P.Eng., President, Level 5 Consulting, moderated by Debbie Kemp of Kemp Construction.

It has taken years of pushing forward and occasionally pushing against the grain to get where these women are today. Hear their start up stories, the hurdles they went through, how they dealt with difficult issues along the way, to ultimately advance into the success they have become today.

Tune in. Be inspired. Get motivated! You will be glad you did!

MODERATOR:

Deb Kemp, Behind the Scenes @ Kemp Construction Management Ltd.

While Deb’s career spans over 40 years, she’s a relative newbie to the construction industry joining the family company officially in 2014.

In addition to her most important role as a Mom to 2 boys, Deb built a career in strategic HR that started in the oil and gas industry in 1981.  In 1999 the Kemps moved their family to Tsawwassen and Deb started her own business as an independent consultant to organizations on leadership and the people side of organization performance.  Deb also became a certified leadership coach and is a past President of the International Coach Federation in Vancouver.

Now in her work with Kemp, she’s able to bring and scale her corporate knowledge to running a family business.  Working ‘behind the scenes’, as CEO (Chief Everything Operator) Deb takes care of everything on the back end from regular planning sessions, leading company branding/marketing to customer relations as well as overseeing and participating in day to day admin.

PANELISTS:

Katharine Czycz, Mitsubishi
Katharine Czycz was the second woman to successfully obtain her refrigeration mechanic Red Seal designation in BC. After working in the field to gain knowledge and experience, she has transitioned into HVAC sales roles for 2 fortune 100 companies. She prides herself on being able to talk the talk and walk the walk in HVAC and construction. Katharine is a strong advocate of skilled trades and apprenticeships and works towards the promotion of women in non-traditional careers in the trades.

Brenda Shaw, Level 5 Consulting
Brenda Shaw P.Eng is President of Level 5 Consulting Ltd a building envelope engineering firm that designs and inspects everything from houses to high rises. Brenda started this company approximately 13 years ago after having her own general contracting firm and working for some of the largest general contractors in the world for 25 years. Brenda was the only woman in her engineering class to graduate in 1980. She was the first woman to design concrete formwork for Eliis-Don Construction and the first woman project manager for PCL Construction building major projects in Toronto. Brenda has managed the construction of some of the largest projects in the country including the Famous Players Colossus in Langley, Northern Telecom’s head office in TO, the Yonge Richmond Center, and several hotels in Whistler. Brenda has won awards for innovativeness in design as well as outstanding project management. Presently Brenda’s firm has over 150 projects in construction and her company believes in providing practical energy efficient design that works. Brenda hopes to retire in a few years and plans on building a house on the beach in Mexico somewhere.

Annette Tuttle, Morningstar Homes

Bio coming!

The Women’s Council strives to Engage, Encourage and Empower women in the residential construction industry. We look forward to meeting you!

Date:   January 20, 2021
Time:   4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Place:  Online
(This complimentary event requires pre-registration to secure a log-in link, sent out prior to the event)