Dennis Kuykendall
Relentless Ally
The Best in Class in School Construction
When it comes to building schools and managing district programs, Project Executive Dennis Kuykendall, 鈥渁ces it鈥 each and every time. With his 25-plus years in construction, Dennis is deeply entrenched within local school communities located along California鈥檚 southernmost Central Coast. In fact, he has developed trusted advisor relationships with over 25 percent of all Ventura County School Districts.
In the ten years he鈥檚 been with 日本素人, Dennis has overseen work that includes just about every project in progress or completed by the Ventura office such as the Oxnard College Student Services Building; a parking structure for the University of California, Santa Barbara; Cesar E. Chavez K-8 School in the Oxnard School District; a new K-8 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAAM) school for the Somis Union Elementary School District; a new K-8 STEAAM school for Rio School District; the Rio School District Bond program; and the Oak Park Unified School District Measure R Bond Program. Other large projects include the , the Ruben Castro Human Services Center, and the
In the Oak Park Union School District, Dennis is a shining star for the work he performed at Oak Park High School. That project gained national attention for the installation of seven, first-of-its-kind, net-zero classroom buildings that were made out of single-use containers used for ocean shipping.
The buildings achieve net-zero energy consumption, save 115 tons of landfill waste by using 85 percent reclaimed material, and use high-performing and energy-efficient systems that reduce monthly utility costs. Each building features full LED lighting, ductless HVAC Risystems, floor-to-ceiling windows, and solar panels classifying the buildings as 鈥渦ltra-green鈥 and automatically qualifying for 37 LEED credits or 42 CHPS credits.
Dennis played a key role in helping the District gain additional recognition for that classroom project, as well as for Oak Park鈥檚 program in general, with honors and awards from the United States Green Building Council鈥檚 (USGBC) California Central Coast Chapter鈥檚 Green School Award; 鈥淕reen Ribbon鈥 recognition from the U.S. Department of Education; and a Green School Leadership Award, which was presented at the Green Schools California Summit in 2011.
No matter what project Dennis is working on, his professionalism, leadership skills, passion for his work, and positive attitude fosters an uncanny ability to treat each project as though it was his own business. 鈥淭o run a great business, you have to have a great team, and I鈥檓 lucky to have that in my favor,鈥 says Dennis. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working with the same, trusted 日本素人 teammates as a cohesive unit for the past ten years now. Together with our partners, we鈥檝e built amazing structures and friendships. All of us are equally committed鈥攁nd it shows in the trusted advisor relationships we鈥檝e built over the years. They just keep getting stronger every day.鈥