Virtual Event
Women in Construction 2023
March 8, 2023 at
11:25am ET
On DEMAND VIDEO
Session #3 – Retaining Women in your Construction Business
Moderator: Rebecca Kragnes, Director, Indigenous Relations and Community Engagement, Bird Construction
Panelists:
- Monique Buckberger, Vice-President and District Manager, PCL Toronto
- Kelly Kienleitner, Chief Instructor, EJTC (Electrical Joint Training Committee)
- Stephanie Hun, Director, Business Development, Flatiron Constructors Canada Ltd.
Our moderator and panelists will share practical advice that you can use to develop plans and strategies for retaining women in your workplace.
REBECCA KRAGNES
Rebecca is a Cree-Métis woman with a passion for improving the Indigenous profile in Canada. A member of the Mètis Nation of Alberta, she was born and raised in Treaty 8 Territory in the Fort McMurray region. She is an advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, focused on amplifying Indigenous and female participation in the construction industry.
She is a Red Seal Journeyperson Electrician with more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry. In her current role, Rebecca provides executive-level support—as well as company-wide education, engagement, and advocacy—to support Indigenous equity within the construction industry. She applies her management and business development background, with a focus on meaningful and purposeful Indigenous community engagement and relationship management.
Rebecca serves as chairperson of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) Board of Directors, a CAF JEDI Committee member, and the Women Building Futures (WBF) Board of Directors and HRC Committee.
By channeling her first-hand knowledge of the barriers women, Indigenous people, and other under-represented groups face in the industry, she works with communities and organizations to promote opportunities for those groups to pursue careers in the skilled trades. She is ardent about improving the representation of marginalized people in skilled trades across Canada, and leverages opportunities to advocate and highlight both the disparity and potential positive outcomes when equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and initiatives are applied.
MONIQUE BUCKBERGER
Within the first few months of joining PCL as a field engineer in Winnipeg more than 27 years ago, Monique knew she wanted to spend the rest of her career at PCL.
While initially drawn to the challenges and dynamics of the construction industry, her client-first focus has defined her successful track record.
Monique is committed to progress and embraces PCL’s value for diversity, equity and inclusion, standing as a leader in our industry to create an environment of empowerment and engagement for everyone.
As an executive sponsor of PCL’s Canadian Buildings Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, she champions the insights and perspectives of individuals from all backgrounds and cultures.
KELLY KIENLEITNER
Kelly is Chief Instructor of the Electrical Joint Training Committee in British Columbia. Supported by union leadership and electrical contractors, EJTC delivers the training that the electrical industry needs.
She started her career in Electrical as a single mom, pursuing not one, but two Red Seal certifications: Inside Electrician and Motor Winder (Electric Motor Systems Technician), the latter of which she was the first woman in Canada to attain.
Kelly began teaching at the IBEW Local 213’s EJTC in 2003; part-time, at night, while working construction as an Apprentice Electrician during the day. Eventually, after a successful career in the trades for almost 25 years, she joined EJTC full-time.
She has completed the Master Instructor/Trainer program, as well as four years of Advanced Studies through the IBEW’s National Training Institution (NTI), which earned her the title of “Education Specialist”.
In addition to teaching EJTC’s Entry Level Trades Training (ELTT) program for 16 years and EJTC’s Alternative Pathway 2nd-Year programs, Kelly participated in the EVITP (Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program) Curriculum Committee.
STEPHANIE HUN
Stephanie leads Flatiron Constructors’ client engagement and major pursuits across Canada as the Director of Business Development. Her focus is advancing Flatiron’s public and private client strategies, collaborative contract structures, and win-win solutions to complex projects throughout the nation.
She brings diverse lessons learned from over 17 years of professional experience in engineering and heavy civil construction for a wide range of infrastructure projects around the world.
Stephanie is proud to mentor young professionals, as well as creating a firm’s first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Framework. She serves as Communications co-chair for the Women in Infrastructure (WIN) Awards Committee, celebrating diversity and success among emerging and outstanding women leaders in the engineering and construction industry.
