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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 �ձ�����’s signature blue signage at a WestWorld project. In the years following Jennifer’s departure, �ձ����� 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 �ձ�����’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 . 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 �ձ�����’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 �ձ�����’s longstanding partnership with non-profit but also served as a member of �ձ�����’s 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 �ձ�����’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.