CELEBRATING WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION 2024
Featured Women
Joan Jones, Jones Corda Construction, Inc.
Meghan Behm, Sierra Crest Cabinets
In the spirit of celebrating women in construction, we are excited to announce CATT's first woman Board President. Meghan Behm, Sierra Crest Cabinets.
Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe appoints first female Board President
Jan 23, 2024
TRUCKEE, CALIF. — Another glass ceiling is being broken thanks to the Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe. For the first time since the organization was founded in 1998, CATT has appointed a woman to the position of board president. Meghan Behm is now serving at the helm of the local nonprofit’s board of directors.
Behm is an owner and partner of Sierra Crest Cabinets. She hails from a family of contractors and subcontractors. She initially got involved with CATT because she witnessed the industry becoming more and more cut-throat.
“I first joined CATT six years ago because I wanted to help ensure everyone benefits from this industry,” says Behm, “CATT is a voice for contractors and subcontractors and having lived through challenging times in our industry, I wanted to make sure we could all continue to survive and thrive doing what we love.”
Behm notes that while there are clearly fewer women than men in the construction field, that females bring a unique set of skills to construction endeavors. “When you walk onto a job site as a woman you are always in the minority,” says Behm. “These situations make women better equipped to face resistance and to figure out the best way to get things done.”
In honor of Behm’s appointment, CATT plans to celebrate women in construction all year long by honoring a prominent female CATT member every other month this year by rolling out a content marketing campaign. Look for features highlighting female CATT member success stories and perspectives on CATT’s social channels, in their monthly Enews and on the CATT website.
CATT Executive Director, Edward Vento says Behm already understands the inner workings of the association and the impact it has on the trades and community. “Meghan is going to make a positive impact right away,” said Vento.
“Women have been historically underrepresented in the trades. As we look around the country, and in fact the world, we can see that this is changing and strong business women like Meghan in leadership positions are a great representation of that,” says Vento. “We look forward to celebrating this important milestone throughout the year.”
See the Sierra Sun press release here.
Joan Jones, Jones Corda Construction
Construction is a driving force in the Tahoe economy with 17% percent of the local population working at construction-based businesses. And yet, women are underrepresented in the field. Enter trailblazer Joan Jones.
Joan Jones was born and raised in Truckee. She attended primary school through High School in Truckee and then attended UC Davis and California State University, Sacramento where she completed her studies of Business Administration. Joan returned to Truckee and worked for Northstar at Tahoe from 1984-1997 as Director of Food and Beverage. In 1997 she became General Manager of GarWoods Grill and Pier.
During her years in the restaurant industry, she found herself involved in multiple remodel projects and realized she loved construction. Recognizing that the restaurant industry was hard on family life, she decided to pursue a job in construction. Jones’ reputation preceded her: Just three days after quitting her current job, she got a call from John Corda, a contractor who owned Corda Construction, offering her a job.
She began with the company as an office manager in 1998, worked her way up into estimating, then project management, and eventually acquired her contractor’s license in 2012 and became a partner in the company.
In 2016, when John passed, she took the role of President and sole owner of Jones Corda Construction. “I thought you had to wield a hammer to become a contractor,” Jones said. “What I found is, it’s just as hard to run a construction company as it is to do the physical work.”
Corda says she especially enjoys the problem solving aspect of the job. She is tasked with taking a client’s idea or drawing and making it a reality, which she describes as a complicated process. Jones said that she has actually been surprised by how accepting people have been of a female contractor. She said that her presence tends to bring “civility” to the worksite, which can tend to be a “blustery” environment. Jones believes women bring a unique perspective to problem solving and has seen female clients often appreciate having a woman to speak with during the building process.
“I hope that more women will join the construction field, and realize that there are lots of different roles,” Jones said. “It’s not just how much you can carry … you can be a smart person, and one doesn’t disqualify the other.”
Joan Jones is married to Russ and has one daughter, Katy, who together run the other family business, Truckee River Winery. She is very active in the community and was on the Truckee Town Council from 2008-2016, serving as Mayor twice. She is truly a pioneer and the Truckee community has benefited greatly from her contributions on all levels.
“Women In Construction”, Alexandra Spychalsky. Moonshine Ink, June 2017.