Jennifer Rhoads
Relentless Ally
An Unwavering Anchor for Arizona
The remarkable story of Jennifer’s life and career isn’t one without its setbacks or sacrifices. But it’s equally filled with moments of great serendipity that, coupled with her ‘never-say-no’ work ethic, have molded Jennifer into a leader who is respected for her operational excellence, trusted for her authenticity and admired for her philanthropy.
As the daughter of a concrete superintendent who grew up toting reels of blueprints around jobsites, it was only natural to set her sights on the AEC Industry. She began her career at the noted architecture firm, Ruhnau Clarke & Associates. Jennifer’s destiny soon came calling when a superintendent from Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. recruited her to join their ranks, and she jumped at the chance.
In the decade thereafter, Jennifer received successive promotions in leadership and built an impressive resume. But in the wake of a significant personal event, Jennifer made the difficult decision to move back to her home state of Arizona where Barnhart did not maintain a presence. Although Jennifer soon found work with another contractor, she deeply missed the Barnhart team and culture and longed to return.
That all changed in an unexpected twist of fate at the most unexpected of places: the 2015 Arizona Bike Week. To her great surprise, Jennifer spotted Balfour Beatty’s signature blue signage at a WestWorld project. In the years following Jennifer’s departure, Balfour Beatty significantly expanded its West coast presence, acquiring not only Barnhart but also Howard S. Wright’s Northwest and Arizona operations.
Jennifer immediately called Brian Cahill - then president of Barnhart - with a simple request: “I want to come home.”
Builder, Doer, Leader
And back home Jennifer came. Since that time, she has been instrumental in growing our Arizona operations and embracing the team’s “builder-doer” model.
Whether she’s helping bring a large-scale hospitality project out of the ground, executing a fast-track special project for one of her many valued financial clients, pitching in on an estimate or leading business acquisition initiatives, no task is too big or small for Jennifer to raise her hand. She’s even stepped up in a mentoring capacity to lead the Arizona chapter of Balfour Beatty’s Connecting Women employee affinity group and serves as an Ambassador for our My Contribution enterprise-wide program for employee-led business change.
“I’m a roll up your sleeves, get it done, jack of all trades,” affirms Jennifer. “It’s in my blood to be juggling five million things at once.”
That grit and determination served Jennifer well in 2020 when she faced a serious health challenge. As those who know her tenacity could have predicted, Jennifer didn’t just bounce back from this trial – she leveraged it to find a new and meaningful purpose.
When Jennifer returned, she requested the opportunity to take on leadership of the Arizona team’s special projects operations. She instinctively recognized the market’s incredible growth potential and was attracted to the quick-turn nature of the work. Vice President Jay McQuarie didn’t hesitate to entrust her with the role.
A Servant Leader for Special Projects
Through her servant-leader approach, Jennifer has successfully nurtured and grown relationships with existing special projects clients such as Vanguard while bringing new clients into the fold and expanding Balfour Beatty’s market share. Today, she manages an impressive portfolio encompassing several national clients.
Although servant leadership can entail many different characteristics, to Jennifer, the term can be boiled down to a central trait: commitment. Whether it’s a work order to patch paint or the renovation of an entire trading floor, Jennifer is wholly committed to the success of her clients, projects and partners. She has even created a highly customized SOP for each client that communicates their unique needs and delivers on their goals with every project.
As an enduring sentiment of her commitment, Jennifer concludes every OAC meeting with a personal tagline: “Morning, noon or night, call me. I’m here for you.”
Building Bridges, Molding Minds
Jennifer certainly answers the call for her clients. In an even broader sense, she has answered the call for her community - both locally and globally. She not only leads Balfour Beatty’s longstanding partnership with non-profit Arizona Angels for Children but also served as a member of Balfour Beatty’s 2018 Bridges to Prosperity team which built a 430-foot footbridge that provides safe, year-round access for the Espiritu Santo community near Cochabamba, Bolivia.
“When I learned about the opportunity to use our expert engineering and construction skills to serve communities in need, I knew it was a calling I was uniquely suited to answer,” Jennifer says. “Providing opportunities for others has always been a very important value for me.”
In the years following, Jennifer has continued to support Balfour Beatty’s Bridge to Prosperity mission in a fundraising leadership capacity.
Jennifer is known amongst her Arizona teammates as “Momma Jen.” Her deep care is profoundly manifested in ways both great and small and in ways that can easily be described, and yet are somehow profoundly intangible to those in her sphere. With steadiness, strength and a servant’s spirit, Relentless Ally Jennifer Rhoads is an anchor for Arizona.
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Jonathan Pearch
Relentless Ally
Building Relationships to Last
During his 16-year career with Balfour Beatty, Vice President Jonathan Pearch has helped build some of Florida’s largest and most complex projects. From the iconic, 263,000-square-foot Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to the 30,000-seat Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Stadium, the Hyatt Regency Orlando and more, Jonathan has developed a unique insight into the levels of collaboration projects of that mega projects require across diverse market sectors.
Perhaps that’s why Jonathan, who began his remarkable career with Balfour Beatty as a four-time intern, describes his journey in terms of the people he’s encountered along the way. From trade and design partners to his valued clients, Balfour Beatty teammates and members of the local AEC community, Jonathan knows first-hand that effective leadership is all about relationships. And Jonathan builds them to last.
When local leadership recognized an opportunity to expand and diversify our South Florida operations, they looked no further than Jonathan to grow the company’s pipeline in higher education and municipal markets among others. Although the elevation in leadership required Jonathan to re-locate his young family, he jumped at the chance, bringing with him the strong cultural and relational foundations he cultivated in Central Florida.
“I was fortunate to work on large project teams early in my career and observe the behaviors that helped everyone navigate the inevitable challenges that arise,” recalls Jonathan. “I strive to establish project cultures rooted in trust, transparency and accountability, because those become solutions-oriented teams.”
On the $36 million expansion and renovation of The Alfond Inn at Rollins, for example, the project team encountered an issue that could have completely derailed the schedule and budget, or at worst, even required a complete re-design.
While preparing to pour foundations on the hotel’s five-story, 81,000-square-foot addition, the team discovered grid alignment issues in the existing structure. With concrete teams mobilized, the clock was ticking to identify a solution.
While some contractors might have put the onus back on the client, this team proactively rolled up their sleeves and got to work under Jonathan’s leadership. As the team collaborated on a solution, Jonathan prioritized maintaining open and honest lines of communication with all partners regarding real-time or anticipated impacts.
Together, the team determined it was feasible to rotate the grid and partnered with the City of Winter Park on resulting setback and easement concerns. But the team didn’t simply solve the problem—they developed an innovative sequencing plan to recoup the time lost and ultimately finished the project on schedule.
“As the leader of the project, it is your job to establish absolute trust with the owner beginning day one,” asserts Jonathan. “That starts by understanding their values and goals and making them your own.” It’s a lesson he learned from his closest mentor at Balfour Beatty, Senior Vice President Brian Prebenda.
If Jonathan doesn’t immediately know the answer to one of his client’s challenges, or simply needs a thought partner to offer up a different perspective, he’s quick to tap the immense network he’s cultivated over the years, including peers at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Central Florida Chapter, where he has served on the Board of Directors. With a deep understanding that our success hinges upon the success of our trade partners, Jonathan extends that same collaborative spirit into the local craft community.
For Jonathan, no matter the size, scope or geography in which we’re executing work, our recipe for success is simple: putting people first + building trusted relationships with a shared focus on operational excellence = exceptional project outcomes.
It’s a recipe that has already yielded great success in South Florida, with recent wins from first-time client, Nova Southeastern University, on their $23.9 million Terry Dining Renovation and an $90 million Student Housing project with long-time client, Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
From his humble roots as an intern to leading an entire market, Jonathan Pearch embodies the DNA of a Relentless Ally and is a passionate steward of Balfour Beatty’s unwavering promise: we build to last.
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Jeff Longacre
Relentless Ally
Setting the Bar for Seattle Special Projects
Jeff Longacre knows a thing or two about consistency. Throughout his 32-year career, he’s worked for one company, in one market sector and remained committed to one overarching goal: delivering successful special projects – nearly 500 to be exact.
Behind that consistency is a man who wears many hats as the company’s vice president and special projects business unit leader in Seattle, Washington. From business development to estimating, scheduling, recruiting top talent and more, Jeff still enjoys every facet of special projects as much as his first day on the job. In fact, Jeff believes success in this fast-paced sector hinges squarely on a team’s adaptability and versatility.
They are qualities Jeff has in spades. Having worked his way through college as a residential carpenter, Jeff learned the industry from the inside out. He credits his time in the field with providing a practical perspective on project execution as well as a direct lens into clients’ deeply personal connection to the work.
“Swinging a hammer taught me how to be a better estimator and scheduler,” affirms Jeff. “Emotions can have a direct impact on the decisions clients make, whether it’s a home or office building. I learned how to build relationships based on trust and communicate effectively with my clients to understand their goals.”
Trust: The Secret Sauce to Special Projects
Upon graduation from the University of Washington with dual majors in architecture and construction management, Jeff began an internship with Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company (HSW). As Jeff explored HSW’s diverse markets, he quickly discerned the alignment between his unique background and the skillsets required for special projects. At the time, however, special projects weren’t exactly a young builder’s coveted career path.
“When I started out, you could say special projects was the red-headed stepchild of the industry. Most people who get into construction want to work on projects that change skylines. That’s not special projects.”
But Jeff intuitively sensed just how special—that special projects could truly be. From the opportunity to collaborate with project partners at a much earlier stage in one’s career to the increased ownership of project decisions and their impact on budget and schedule, special projects don’t just require our teammates to wear many hats. To deliver highly custom projects that move forward at lightning speed, they must wear those many hats exceedingly well.
“In special projects, you’re not separated from the client by an RFI,” says Jeff. “Superintendents are proposing value engineering solutions to clients face-to-face in the field, and project engineers can begin cultivating what we call ‘living room relationships’ with our clients at a very early age.”
It’s one of the primary messages which enables Jeff to successfully recruit new talent to join their thriving and full-service special projects team which also performs maintenance and warranty work.
Jeff believes it’s this highly collaborative and solutions-oriented approach that helps HSW build such trusted relationships with our special projects clients and partners across a vast array of market sectors and delivery methods. An added layer of trust is needed for projects within occupied facilities, when special projects teams must provide real-time and enhanced communication and coordination efforts to ensure Zero Harm.
The Door to More
Over the decades, clients have come to depend on Jeff’s guidance and that of his teammates, and the entire business has reaped the results. From a Confidential Online Global Retailer to leading banking institutions and even educational institutions including his alma mater, our Northwest operations enjoy a nearly 90% repeat client rate.
“A client is often willing to go out on a limb on a $50,000 job more than a $50 million job,” maintains Jeff. “Once a client starts understanding that they can rely on our guidance and that the guidance adds real value, you start to build trust which can often lead to repeat work or even major capital projects.”
To help attract the workers back to the office post-pandemic, commercial clients are increasingly seeking Jeff’s expertise on design and construction choices that embody their culture, values and identity. Under Jeff’s leadership, the team has built mock-ups and conducted pilot programs to help meet their clients’ goals for the modern workplace.
The Staying Power of Special Projects
Although Jeff has more than three decades of special projects experience under his toolbelt, he doesn’t plan on exploring other market sectors anytime soon. He loves the people, frenetic pace and even the unpredictability special projects can bring.
“I never know what I’ll be doing three or even six months from now,” says Jeff. “We’re always assembling new teams, we’re always estimating, we’re always scheduling. I’m not going anywhere. I’m having too much fun.”
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Daniel Shirkey
Relentless Ally
Daniel Shirkey: A People-First Champion of Lean Construction
Daniel Shirkey recalls the moment that changed the trajectory of his career like it was yesterday.
While en route to a concrete conference, Daniel’s professor of construction engineering at San Diego State University casually recommended he check out the Lean Construction Institute (LCI). At the time, the professor could not have possibly foreseen the extent to which Daniel would take this advice to heart—or how it would ultimately inspire and shape his philosophy on building.
Sixteen years later, Daniel has not only become a respected practitioner of lean, but he has also risen through the LCI volunteer ranks to become Chair of this year’s Congress. The annual event, widely esteemed within the AEC community, draws together hundreds of industry professionals and owners to gain new ideas and perspectives that advance their lean journeys. As Chair, Daniel leads multiple volunteer committees and collaborates with LCI staff on event planning, programming and logistics.
This high-profile leadership role is the latest in Daniel’s near decade of involvement with LCI, which includes positions as chair of the LCI San Diego Chapter Community of Practice (CoP) and membership in the Congress Content and Outreach Committee, where he has played an instrumental role in the abstract review process among other contributions.
Daniel has been a member of LCI since 2009 and attended a total of six Congresses over the years.
A People-First Lens on Lean Construction
Behind Daniel’s impressive legacy of service to LCI is a deep-seated belief that lean tools and methodologies have the power to transform the built industry as we know it. Although benefits of lean construction such as improved efficiency, better cost control and reduced risk are broadly known, Daniel believes it is lean’s most fundamental principle - respect for people - that has the greatest alignment with the tenets of Balfour Beatty’s people-first culture.
And in his role as Sr. Director of Technology & Operations Improvement in California, that’s precisely where Daniel sets his focus: people.
“When it comes to construction technology, yes, we have our client, but we also have our internal customer - our operations teammates, design team members and trade partners putting work in place,” says Daniel.
He makes it a priority to “go and see,” regularly visiting jobsites to discuss workflows, challenges and the value project teams derive from company tools and technology platforms and adapting workflows as necessary based on feedback.
Lean: It’s for Everyone
Daniel believes that his work with LCI and adoption of lean has made him a better technology advocate for the business and hopes to inspire others to explore the ways in which lean principles and tools can benefit them.
He is quick to dispel myths surrounding lean, including that it is difficult to learn and primarily only applicable on large-scale projects with Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) delivery models. On the contrary, Daniel believes that lean journeys can and should begin anywhere, at any time, on any project, for anyone.
“I’m passionate about the message that lean can be valuable to everyone,” says Daniel.
He encourages industry professionals to begin by familiarizing themselves with Gemba Walks and the Last Planner System®. The latter, developed by LCI founders Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell, is a comprehensive approach to project management that encourages greater collaboration between team members to produce more accurate plans and reliable schedules.
With the rise in collaborating contracting models such as design-build, which create greater runway for the deployment of lean tools such as Balfour Beatty’s propriety SmartStart® process, Daniel sees the appetite for lean only growing into the future as more owners experience its value. Just as importantly, the interest is rising among top industry talent who know first-hand the difference between working on a collaborative project or one plagued by inefficiencies.
The spark that Daniel’s professor ignited many years ago has grown to become an inspired and ever-evolving journey in his pursuit of the spirit of lean: continuous improvement. It is through the progressive vision, encouragement and commitment of lean leaders at Balfour Beatty like Daniel that our own lean journey is continuing to take root, drive innovative practices and deliver ever-greater value for our teams, partners and projects.
Interested in learning more about lean construction or ways you can get involved with the Lean Construction Institute (LCI)? Reach out to Daniel to learn more.
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Mauro Rosales
Relentless Ally
La Familia es Todo
When Florida Project Manager Mauro Rosales first came to the U.S. in 2011, family meant everything. In a very real sense, family was all he had.
For the sake of his family’s safety and Mauro’s own career potential, his parents, Mauricio Rosales and Valbi Rangel, made the difficult decision to leave successful professional careers in Caracas, Venezuela and immigrate to the Doral suburb of Miami, Florida. The three spoke little to no English at the time but quickly began learning, navigating school and jobs to make ends meet along the way.
In the 13 years since, Mauro has taken his parents’ gifts – of opportunity, of unconditional support, of strong values – and run with them, creating a successful career as a construction professional. At every step, Mauro’s parents and remaining family in Venezuela have naturally remained his foundation, but one reinforced by his found and created families throughout school and into his career. And rather than focus his success and project management gifts inward, Mauro is now giving back as the team leader for Balfour Beatty’s 2024 Bridges to Prosperity team, leading the charge to build a footbridge in rural Rwanda that will connect communities to education, water and food year-round.
Leaving Everything Behind
Mauro was 16 when his family resettled in Doral. While still a young age, and young enough to quickly adapt to a new culture, new language and new way of life, 16 is still old enough that leaving everything behind was a profound and lasting loss. Nothing was as difficult as the family who stayed. Mauro’s great-grandmother Angela had lived with his family his entire life, but at the age of 101 was unable to follow them to Florida.
“All of my friends, all of my family, my entire life was back in Venezuela, and that was very difficult to leave behind,” Mauro recalls. “Still, Venezuela was and still is going through a very hard political and economic situation, and I know deep inside that it was the best decision to give my family better opportunities.”
While his immediate family was a crucial system during the initial challenges of relocation, Mauro says that a newfound family – fellow students at Ronald Reagan Doral Senior High School in a large community of Venezuelan immigrants – helped create a new sense of community and a shared vision for brighter futures.
“I found good people with stories similar to mine, and they’re still my best friends today,” Mauro says. “We supported each other through school, through jobs and through the entire process of adapting to a new place and culture.”
Connecting with Construction
Mauro worked as a restaurant waiter through the remainder of school, and when considering higher education and career paths after high school, family again shaped the direction of his life. Mauro intended to pursue a civil engineering degree and an architectural career, but his uncle Ernesto Rangel, an engineer back in Venezuela sagely advised a slight change of course: with Mauro’s natural relationship-building skills, a field career might suit him better. His uncle was absolutely right
“I continued studying engineering and design, but my uncle’s wisdom and my first internship made me reconsider,” Mauro recalls. “Working in the field, I still got to experience the aspects of design I most enjoyed, but I also got to have a better feel for the environment, build bridges between people and solutions and coordinate complex problems. I knew this was my path.”
Throughout university, Mauro’s family, both born and found, remained his touchstone. Both at Miami Dade College and later at the University of Florida, Mauro found large communities of Hispanic and Latin American students who understood and valued his roots and shared his drive to excel in construction.
His layers of support systems, including a roommate and classmate with a similar background, translated into a successful educational career and he soon landed his first construction job with Balfour Beatty, recruited as a project engineer and mentored by Project Executive Tom Stedem. Even better, his roommate joined him.
Mauro has since followed Tom to several successful Florida projects, created his own successes and now serves as an Assistant Project Manager on the Broward County Convention Center and Hotel project in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Giving Back
When Mauro first heard of Balfour Beatty’s partnership with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), he was instantly drawn to the mission and intended to apply for the team as soon as he was eligible. He didn’t, but regretted it immediately when the same roommate was selected for the 2022 B2P team. From that point, Mauro knew that his participation in B2P wasn’t a question of “if” but “when.”
“Bridges to Prosperity is a great opportunity for me to contribute to something real, lasting and life-changing for many families,” Mauro says. “I grew up relatively fortunate in Venezuela, but the conditions for rural Rwandans are not unlike situations I remember from back home, so I understand how this could impact the lives of people who need it most.”
As leader of our 2024 B2P team, Mauro is faced with a difficult task: coordinating a team of ten from every corner of Balfour Beatty’s US operations (yet another found family), spurring each teammate on to contribute to a successful and safe accelerated two-week bridge build. Despite the monumental logistical effort of the task at hand, Mauro’s focus, as ever, is on the people involved – both the families being served and the team traveling to serve.
“I feel strongly that B2P is not just an opportunity to provide critical infrastructure for a community in need, but also for our team to learn,” Mauro says. “My hope is that our team seizes the opportunity to open our eyes, minds and hearts, to understand the privileges we take for granted in the U.S. and to catch a glimpse of what really matters in a community with much less.”
Mauro and the B2P team depart for Rwanda on November 7. Balfour Beatty teammates, clients, trade partners and friends and family are invited to support their effort and to follow their journey before, during and after the bridge build.
La Familia es Todo
Throughout his education, career and now effort to selflessly give back, Mauro has never lost sight of the importance of family. Mauricio and Valbi still live in Doral, and though the two-hour round trip is substantial, he makes the drive as often as possible to visit and honor the family and community that provided for him, raised him and set him up to make a difference in the world from Florida all the way to Rwanda.
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Billy Webb
General Manager, Total Power Group
Relentless Ally since 2024
William “Billy” Webb serves as general manager for Total Power Group (TPG) and oversees the manufacturing facility in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He leads business development and operations delivering traction power projects in major cities across the country as well as customized energy solutions with a high-level of flexibility and value to TPG customers.
With over 35 years of experience in the power generation and electrical field, Billy joined TPG in 2024. TPG consistently works in tandem with Balfour Beatty’s rail division providing custom-designed traction power substations for the Caltrain Electrification project and Los Angeles World Airport’s (LAX) Automated People Mover (APM) project.
His career began by proudly serving his country in the U.S. Navy as an Electrician’s Mate Petty Officer Second Class aboard the USS Thomas C. Hart. In his personal time, Billy enjoys golfing, cooking and woodworking as well as motorcycle rides with his wife, Jami. He is passionate about raising awareness for and participating in events that support the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society.
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Carter Gulacy
Relentless Ally
Making Her Mark on Portland
When Superintendent Carter Gulacy isn’t working on impressive projects like The Springs, the Hoxton Hotel, the Portland Building, Broadway Tower or our very own Portland office, she is committed to guiding the next generation of construction professionals. How does she know the importance of mentorship? Because that’s what ignited her interest in construction.
Growing up working on the family ranch, Carter’s work ethic was no secret. She knew she wanted to pursue a career working with her hands and creating something, but she – like many teenagers – wasn’t sure what other opportunities existed.
When an acquaintance who worked in the construction industry mentioned they believed Carter had the skills to be successful, she kept his number for more than a year before finally reaching out. With his guidance and personal reference, Carter successfully jumpstarted her career.
Accomplished Field Leader
Today, no job is too big, too small or too challenging for Carter. Her impressive portfolio spans diverse market sectors from hospitality and commercial high-rises to mixed-use developments, special projects and beyond. This experience has honed Carter’s skillsets working on both core and shell structures and interiors, making her an even more well-rounded leader in the field.
In the process of helping transform Portland’s skyline, Carter has also become a cornerstone of our recruitment and retention efforts in the Northwest. Her passionate advocacy for the next generation of construction professionals, specifically tradespeople, has positively impacted our ability to attract and retain skilled workers, addressing a critical, industry-wide challenge.
“I began in the field and always want to be an outlet for who may be struggling on a job and not sure who to talk to about it,” she says.
Apprenticeship Advocacy
Carter is actively involved with two pre-apprenticeship programs offered by the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute (PNCI). Pre-apprenticeship programs help those starting out gain skills and experience as well as enhance their credentials and networks that are needed to begin a career.
The first, Portland Youth Builders, is a program that helps guide and educate young adults who are interested in working in the trades. During six- to eight-week programs, Carter (as well as other superintendents, project managers, project engineers and specialized tradespeople, such as masons and ironworkers) interview the young professionals and answer questions, explain roles within the industry and guide them to a field that suits their skillsets and passions.
The second is a Carpenters Pre-Apprenticeship Program for high school students interested in carpentry. This program has the same interview process, but provides students experience through summer internships, helping pave the way for their entry into the industry upon graduation.
Over the years, Carter has also mentored and supported numerous young professionals, all of whom have successfully secured employment within the local contractor community. Her commitment doesn't end with job placement; Carter maintains ongoing relationships with her mentees, continually leveraging her network to connect them with new opportunities in the industry.
Mentoring Close to Home
Turning her sights closer to home, Carter has also taken a leading role in strengthening the local Howard S. Wright “Foreman Four” training program. This initiative brings together laborers, carpenters and general foremen in monthly sessions to develop crucial skills such as communication, adaptability and leadership.
Carter is actively working to expand the program by incorporating a mentorship component, ensuring that foremen receive ongoing professional development support as they advance in their careers.
Carter's influence extends far beyond the projects she builds. Her dedication to sharing skills and supporting colleagues ensures that that influence will continue to shape our projects and our people for years to come.
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