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What are you doing in your new role as director of business development?

I’m in charge of generating new sales opportunities for the company as well as community relations and relations with owners, subcontractors. We’ve made the investment in this office space and my role is finding work in the state of Iowa as well as Omaha. Our target markets are really health care, higher education and commercial construction.

What is your career background?

I’ve actually been with JE Dunn now about one month. I have been in the Des Moines area for 14 years. I got my start with the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce (Federation), which then became the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Then I had six years’ experience in construction sales and marketing.

Are there plans to grow this office?

Definitely. We’ve recognized and we’re fortunate that the Dunn family has recognized that if we’re going to continue to grow as a construction company – we’re already a $2.9 billion company – but to continue that growth mode, it’s got to happen in places other than Kansas City. They are very excited and very thorough on looking at those opportunities in those markets that make the most sense for us to grow. Des Moines and the state of Iowa is their No. 1 priority.

JE Dunn Midwest recently laid off 30 people. Does that affect this office?

The way this economy is today, everybody is right-sizing a little bit. A lot of ours was due to attrition. But having said that, there’s tremendous opportunity out there for projects. People still want to do projects; we need to find a way to get them financed. Where we can add a benefit to that is our expertise in preconstruction and really drilling down what is in that budget.

What projects are you working on?

We’re continuing to work on Mercy West Lakes. We’ve been very fortunate to do Graceland University’s work for a number of years. We’re building the new science center for them. Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, we’re building a wellness center for them. After that, they have an addition to the hospital. We’re working on phase two of (Iowa State University’s) veterinary medicine up in Ames and then we’re chasing a number of other things in the market.

What do you like to do outside work?

I’m very big on community involvement. I am on the board of the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce and also on West Des Moines Plan and Zoning (Commission). I’m involved with Mentor Iowa’s board of directors. I can’t downplay this enough: Community involvement is key to being successful.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Walnut, Iowa, on a farm. We had the cow/calf operation and corn and beans. I had first-hour study hall mandated by my dad so he always had help in the mornings. My folks really taught me the value of hard work.

What is one word to describe yourself?

Driven.

What are you grateful for this year?

I had a situation (last) year where the economy was bad and we had a downsizing at my previous employer and I was let go. I was very humbled by how this community responded to my personal situation. It seems like everyone was going out of their way to try to help me find something.