Sarah Creighton and Holly Cindell of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. of Newport Beach are among a group of pioneering women from Southern California construction, architecture and engineering companies to begin WiOPS—a new professional organization geared specifically toward women in construction operations. Creighton and Cindell were named co-chairman for the new organization which aims at mentoring women working in the operations side of construction.
“Women make up less than 10% of the construction workforce with an even smaller number in professional and managerial positions,” said Sarah Creighton, vice president operations, education services for McCarthy Building Companies of Newport Beach. “There are other industry organizations out there for women in construction, but none of them are tailored to women in construction operations roles. We started WiOPS to fill that gap.”
This past summer, Creighton and Cindell joined with 13 other women in likeminded careers to set up a board and establish goals and a mission for WiOPS. As a result, the group determined their primary goal will be to facilitate mentorship of up and coming women in the construction, architecture and engineering professions.
They also developed the following mission: “WiOPS is committed to the advancement of women in construction operation positions and mentoring of future women leaders in our industry. Through mentorships, education and networking, we are dedicated to establishing a platform to share our goals and explore solutions to the unique challenges women encounter. WiOPS promotes hard work, commitment, and integrity to maintain a professional network of construction leaders today and tomorrow.”
“We decided to initially focus on mentorship, because men in our business can find male mentors within their own organization,” said McCarthy Project Director Holly Cindell. “In contrast, women sometimes need to look outside of their own companies to find other females in similar roles. WiOPS can aid by supplying the forum to meet other women who will share their experiences and provide guidance, advice and encouragement equipping each of us with the tools we need to excel in a non-traditional field.”
The WiOPS founding board members include: Co-chairmen, Holly Cindell and Sarah Creighton, McCarthy; Vice Chairman, Nancy Goldman, Jezowski & Markel; Secretary, Kasie Bowden, Hensel Phelps Construction Co.; Treasurers, Lia Tatevosian, Swinerton Builders and Lucy Villanueva, McCarthy; Membership, Amanda Corbet, McCarthy and Events Coordinator, Shaabini Alford, Murray Company. Other WiOPS members instrumental to the group’s founding include: Bernadette Reyes, Clark Construction Group; LaDrena Dansby, USC Capital Construction Development; Elle Navarro and Michelle Garcia, Hensel Phelps Construction Co.; Sammi Maya, McCarthy; Jessica Drake, Swinerton Builders and Kathlynn Smith, Hunt Ortman and founder of SmartGirls and SmartGirls’ Guide to Construction Law.
Held on January 24, 2013 at Murray Company’s training facility in Rancho Dominguez, the organization’s launch event was a huge success with over 150 attendees. During the launch, prospective and new members learned more about the goals and mission of the organization and had the opportunity to network with fellow women in operations during cocktail hour and dinner.
Meet-ups are currently being planned for March 7, 2013 at locations in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties with specifics to be announced on the WiOPS website. The next formal meeting is planned for April 25, 2013 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at McCarthy’s office in Newport Beach. The event will include networking and featured speaker Dr. Michael Brainard along with a distinguished panel of women in leadership positions. Michael Brainard has designed and implemented dozens of mentoring, coaching and career development programs for many companies across industries. During the meeting, he will define objectives, myths and best practices from “both sides” of the mentor and mentee perspectives.
WiOPS membership is open to women and men in construction, architecture and engineering industries serving in operations, managerial, estimating, engineering and design career paths. For more information about membership or to sign up to attend their next meeting, please visit www.womeninoperations.com.
About McCarthy
Recognized as one of the nation’s few true builders, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the nation’s eighth largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2012) and Orange County’s largest commercial builder (Orange County Business Journal, June 2011). The company is committed to the construction of high performance green buildings; progressive job site technology; and safer, faster and more cost-effective execution. In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; St. Louis; Collinsville, Ill.; Dallas; Houston and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
Related Stories
| May 25, 2011
Register today for BD+C’s June 8th webinar on restoration and reconstruction projects
Based on new and award-winning building projects, this webinar presents our “expert faculty” to examine the key issues affecting project owners, designers and contractors in case studies ranging from gut renovations and adaptive reuses to restorations and retrofits.
| May 25, 2011
Developers push Manhattan office construction
Manhattan developers are planning the city's biggest decade of office construction since the 1980s, betting on rising demand for modern space even with tenants unsigned and the availability of financing more limited. More than 25 million sf of projects are under construction or may be built in the next nine years.
| May 25, 2011
Olympic site spurs green building movement in UK
London's environmentally friendly 2012 Olympic venues are fuelling a green building movement in Britain.
| May 19, 2011
BD+C’s "40 Under 40" winners for 2011
The 40 individuals profiled here are some of the brightest stars in the AEC universe—and they’re under the age of 40. These young architects, engineers, contractors, designers, and developers stood out among a group of 164 outstanding entrants in our sixth annual “40 Under 40” competition.
| May 18, 2011
Stone Construction acquires Harden Constructors
The design-build firm Stone Construction LLC has acquired Harden Constructors Inc. The two companies have merged their full-service project design and construction capabilities to assist owners of office, industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, retail, educational and religious facilities, and developers of such facilities in prime office parks.
| May 18, 2011
8 Tips for Designing Wood Trusses
Successful metal-plate-connected wood truss projects require careful attention to detail from Building Team members.
| May 18, 2011
Major Trends in University Residence Halls
They’re not ‘dorms’ anymore. Today’s collegiate housing facilities are lively, state-of-the-art, and green—and a growing sector for Building Teams to explore.
| May 18, 2011
Former Bronx railyard redeveloped as shared education campus
Four schools find strength in numbers at the new 2,310-student Mott Haven Campus in New York City. The schools—three high schools and a K-4 elementary school—coexist on the 6.5-acre South Bronx campus, which was once a railyard.
| May 18, 2011
Eco-friendly San Antonio school combines history and sustainability
The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.
| May 18, 2011
New Reform Jewish Independent school opens outside Boston
The Rashi School, one of only 17 Reform Jewish independent schools in North American and Israel, opened a new $30 million facility on a 166-acre campus shared with the Hebrew SeniorLife community on the Charles River in Dedham, Mass.
