“Opportunity Build has a whole year wrap around service (for students) after they graduate. That support is the reason I think this has evolved into such a successful program. They don’t want to let us down, and


we don’t want to let them down.” – Juanita Douglas, Opportunity Build


perspective to her role mentoring and instructing students, approximately half of whom are women looking for a better life just like she was when she initially joined the carpenters union in the early 1980s. As a single mother looking to support her young son, she was looking for a sustainable, well-paying job when she responded to a flyer advertising the benefits of working as a union carpenter. Despite facing initial pushback as a


Black woman in a male-dominated field, Douglas was hired to work on a federally funded project in Petaluma, CA. She com- pleted her apprenticeship while working for Concrete Form Constructors over eight years, and then decided to become a surveyor. She worked for two companies over about 15 years in that role, helping build key infrastructure projects in San Francisco including Mission Bay, the Tird Street Light Rail project, Transbay Terminal, and others. Douglas is proud to point out she never needed to work out of the union hall again after securing her first job and that she was able to help put her son through college, with no loans, thanks to her well-paying career in the trades. “I totally loved what I did the entire time,” Douglas reflected. “I love the physical part


of being able to see the product after it is done, and the money was phenomenal.” After retiring as a surveyor a few years


ago, Douglas was persuaded to return to work as an instructor for the Operating Engineers Local 3 in affiliation with City Build, when they needed a well-qualified instructor to teach journeymen a new GPS system that was being deployed on the Chase Center project in San Francisco. Rising Sun subsequently asked her to join their nonprofit as an instructor for Opportunity Build, and she decided to accept the challenge.


Leveraging Industry Relationships Douglas worked alongside Opportunity Build Director Marlin Jeffreys and others to revamp the program’s curriculum, shifting from having students build tool boxes and bird cages to teaching them skills they could use on jobsites, such as basic framing, concrete form work and metal stud work. She leveraged her strong relationships with the local trade unions to bolster apprenticeship opportunities for students. Two to three years ago, Douglas was


introduced to AGC of California’s Build California. Te resulting partnership has greatly increased the program’s visibility


among and access to local contractors and construction industry employers, help- ing them achieve the goal of increasing student job placement. In April 2023, over 100 union repre-


sentatives as well as AGC of California member contractors including McCarthy, Turner, Swinerton and others, turned out for Opportunity Build’s outreach fair, connecting students with real job opportunities in the industry.


Making Lasting Connections As part of her role at the program, Douglas has helped recruit participants by visiting job fairs, women’s shelters, and state prisons as well as working with partner organizations like the West Oakland Job Resource Center, Rubicon and others. She views the students as her extended family, pointing out that the relationships built between staff and students has played a critical role in the program’s success. “Te students realize that we really


care, and this is not just a program to get them through,” she said. “We are going to be there for them for a whole year after they graduate with support services, and some come back to talk to the follow-on classes to share their experiences working in the trades.”


CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023


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