NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

Impact Napa

Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 8-10:45 a.m., Napa Valley Marriott, Napa

Best Places to Work 2008 Awards Reception

September 25, 2008, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park

E-Mail Express

Name:

Company:

E-mail:

Phone:

CONSTRUCTION: Monica Soiland: Raised in family business, construction executive determined to strike out on her own

PETALUMA – The fifth of seven children of longtime Sonoma County developer and quarry operator Marv Soiland, Monica Soiland has been finding her own path through life – the first of her siblings choosing to work outside the family company.

She started in the family business much the same way her siblings and extended family did. From 1977 at age 13 until age 20, she spent her summers working for her father’s general engineering company.

“He wanted his girls to learn office skills, his boys to learn how to operate machinery and, most importantly, he wanted to teach us strong work ethics and how to be an excellent employee and contributor in a team environment,” she recalled of her father’s on-the-job education.

When she got to California Lutheran University in Southern California, Ms. Soiland didn’t know in which industry she wanted to work. She did know she liked making objectives happen, so she earned an undergraduate degree in business administration.

Upon graduation she returned to Sonoma County and to the construction industry. One of the attractions of the building industry is being able to see the objective achieved, i.e. built. Every time she drives by past projects it brings a sense of pride to her. However, her other objective was to pursue her own career in construction and to be able to obtain success on her own path.

“Initially, it was hard for my family to understand why I did not come to work in the family business. In the years to follow they really understood and appreciated my decision.”

After college, her first job in construction was as a bookkeeper at Santa Rosa-based commercial general contractor Lawrence Gentry Construction, now called GCCI.

Phillip Brown, CEO of B&L Glass of Santa Rosa, remembers when Ms. Soiland arrived at Gentry, where he was working as an estimator at the time.

“Nothing intimidated her,” he said. “If she didn’t know something, she would study up.”

After six years at Gentry, she joined commercial general contractor BDM Construction of Santa Rosa, now called Facility Development Corp.

A year later, Ms. Soiland moved to Idaho and stayed only for a year. Retuning to California, she decided to try something other than construction, so she enrolled in 640 hours of study for a massage therapy license while working for Alive & Well in Marin County.

During her time there, she caught the urge to hit the road to pursue her love of cycling. She took a three-month leave of absence to bike through Alaska and the Northwest.

Later she got more adventurous with a 10-month, 10,000-mile cycling trip through nine countries in Central and South America. Ms. Soiland returned to the United States via New York and decided to cycle back to California with three different trips into Canada.

“It was one of the toughest things I’ve done in my life,” she said about a 10-day climb up the Andes Mountains on a cliff-hugging road with no shoulders or guardrail. “I had to pull from within. No one else was there to cycle my bike up the mountain for me. That experience taught me patience, determination and internal strength.”

When she returned from the trip, she wanted to get back into construction. She landed a job as project coordinator at Petaluma-based commercial general contractor Midstate Construction in December 1996.

The company has grown since then from $30 million in revenue to $92 million in 2007 and is expected to reach $100 million this year. Her job title has grown too, morphing five times with increasing responsibility. During her employment she earned a Construction Management Certificate from Sonoma State University.

For the past six years, she has been vice president of marketing and business development, working to keep the flow of project opportunities coming and maintaining relationships with clients throughout the project. Because of the increasing use of green construction, she plans to become accredited in the U.S. Green Building Council’s commonly used Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

“Monica brings a unique blend of bottom-line professionalism and a feminine perspective to a traditionally male-dominated industry,” wrote Midstate President Roger Nelson.

Ms. Soiland is glad that there are an increasing number of female associates in the construction industry. Many contractor, client and architect meetings are now filled with a mixture of female and male participants.

“We all have something unique to add in a group setting and have different passions or concerns that help contribute to a successful project delivery,” Ms. Soiland said.

While not the cyclist she used to be, she likes the focus she gets for work and life by starting her day with exercise at the gym six days a week. She also likes to spend her time out of work with her 15 nephews and nieces, not to mention a great-nephew and a great-niece.

Her other major involvements outside work are serving on the board of the North Coast Builders Exchange and the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce. At the chamber she has been serving as treasurer and is set to begin as second vice president.

Book of Lists Online