Allow us to reintroduce ourselves! We come from a variety of locations across North America and represent many trades. There are some seasoned tradeswomen among our founders as well as some recent apprenticeship graduates. However, we are all comitted to our goal of elevating tradeswomen around the world. These are the people who have been working for the past two years to make our 2022 Delegation to London a reality.

Amber McCoy

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) Local 1503 Portland Oregon

McCoy joined the construction industry doing residential remodeling in 2003 and became a union member in 2006. They are the UBC International Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB) chair for the western district, a coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute, and an elected Trustee for local 1503. They have previously travelled to the Philippines, Australia, and India, meeting and collaborating with Tradeswomen and unions. Things that make McCoy happy are good food, good people, and the love of their life.

Noreen Buckley

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 6 San Francisco California

Noreen has been in the construction industry for 6 years, joining the union in 2017. She is the co-chair of the Golden Gate Women’s Committee and a co-founder of Tradeswomen Building Bridges. She was featured on ESPN when she participated in the 2020-2021 Ideal Electric National Championship and took part in their Wire-to-Wire web series. She is a proud mom to a 9 year old and two sweet pups! She enjoys playing soccer and she even started an IBEW soccer team in her home local.

Kelly McClellen

International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 101, Bonner Springs, Kansas

Kelly has spent 25 years operating heavy equipment with IUOE and 6 years advocating in the women in construction movement. She is a member of the IUOE Sisters Leadership Committee and still thinks operating heavy equipment is fun after all these years. She is a mom, a step-mom, a wife and a grandmother to a 5-year old.

Cassandra Klewicki

United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) Local 290, Long Island New York

Cassandra has been a union tradeswoman since 2017 and is a co-founder for Tradeswomen Building Bridges. She is a graduate student at the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. She hopes to one day use her research as a vehicle for creating positive change in the construction industry. In her spare time, she volunteers for Planned Parenthood, hikes, camps, and travels.

Amanda Kay Johnson

United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 157, Staten Island New York

Amanda has been in the trades for 10 years, joining the union 6 years ago. She is a co-founder for Tradeswomen Building Bridges and has been on the collaborative team since 2017. Her favorite projects to discuss were the new Javits Center Expansion and the soon to be completed New York Wheel, a giant Ferris Wheel on Staten Island’s North Shore. Her favorite roles are sister, daughter and dreamer.

Susan Moir

Researcher, Boston Massachusetts

Despite being highly qualified, forty years ago Susan Moir was refused entry into a construction apprenticeship program because she was a woman. She became a bus driver, a leader in the Boston School Bus Driver’s Union and chair of her union’s health and safety committee.

Years later, when she was hired to work with the building trades on a multi-state construction health and safety research project, she began to take her revenge! She has devoted the remainder of her career to crushing the barriers to women’s entry into good jobs in the construction trades. She received a doctorate in Work Environment Policy in 2005, she is a founder of the Massachusetts Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues and, in 2015, she received a Fulbright Award that led to the creation of Tradeswomen Building Bridges.

Cynthia Lee Frank

United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) Local 945 Jefferson City Missouri

Cindy Frank is a 42 year member of the UBC. She was the first woman president of a carpenters local, serving as the president of Local 945, and the Trades Women Task Force Action Committee co-chair. She is currently on the steering committee for Mid America Sisterhood of Carpenters. Before becoming a carpenter, she skated with the Ice Capades! Ballerina, tradeswoman, just proof that we can be anything we want to be if given the chance.

Dee Soza

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 551, Redwood Empire Sonoma County California

Dee has been a union electrician for 29 years. She spent 10 years working as a Business Representative and political coordinator for Local 551 and was elected as an Executive Board Member and Vice President for her local union. In 2009, the California 7^th District State Senator presented her with the Woman of Labor Award.  In 2016, Tradeswoman Inc. named her Tradeswoman of the Year for outstanding contributions in support of women in the trades. She is a cofounder of TBB and attended our first delegation to India in 2017.   She is happily married, and if she is not kicking ass for the working class, she enjoys the open road, RVing, camping, fishing, and spending time playing games with friends and family.

Holly Brown

International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 3, Northern California

Holly was a Teamster for 10 years and a firefighter for two before starting her apprenticeship with IUOE in 1999. She was the dispatcher for the local and then the Apprenticeship Coordinator for several district offices. In 2021, she became the Senior Apprenticeship Coordinator. She is a co-founder for TBB and the chair of the North Bay Apprenticeship Coordinators Association. She was awarded Woman of the Year for Solano County in 2017. She has served on several local workforce development boards.

Kathleen Santora

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) DC35, Boston Massachusetts

Kathleen is a 10 year member Local 939, where she serves as the financial secretary. She is on the executive board of the North Shore Labor Council and a co-founder of Tradeswomen Building Bridges.