Chanen Construction Company, Inc.

08/18/2025

Congratulations on 1 year with Chanen! It’s always exciting to celebrate a work anniversary! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to Chanen!

03/06/2025

It's Women in Construction week, and today we're highlighting one of the awesome women on our team: Kennie Karbiner Davis!

Kennie describes herself as a tough cookie. She’s good with numbers, stays organized, and keeps projects on track. It’s why she has excelled as a project coordinator and administrator for over 22 years in the construction industry (the past two years at Chanen!)

As a woman in construction, her career hasn’t been without its quirky moments—once, she was the only woman on her team and had to create her own ladies’ restroom!

However, she looks back with gratitude for the many men who made her feel welcome in a male-dominated workplace, and took time to teach her new skills.

“I can’t lift the same things they can, but my brain works the same,” she said. "You don't have to be one gender or another to do construction."

When asked what she'd say to women considering working in construction or just starting in their construction careers, she shared these pieces of advice:

1. Listen. You learn a lot by listening. Soak it in. Learn as much as you can.

2. Contact a local college’s construction program. Get on a job site, do an internship, and get a feeling whether it’s something you’d like to do.

3. Reach out to your local National Association of Women in Construction chapter. You don’t have to be a member to participate. We do monthly meetings, and social events like Top Golf or happy hour. This group is a wealth of information and a great place to connect with other women in various construction career paths.

4. You'll like this work if you love change. I love when one project ends and I get to go to the next one. I love being on the job sites, moving around. I like the change, and the variety of what I do in my job.

5. To the woman nervous about being the “only girl”: Be brave and bold. Just go for it. Don’t let that intimidate you. There's a place for you in this industry.

Kennie’s enjoyment at work caught on; her daughter Quinn now works at Chanen too, and is a project administrator on the fantastic Phoenix Theater project.

"My mother’s passion and dedication to her career in construction inspired me to follow in her footsteps," Quinn says. "She showed me that hard work and perseverance can lead to success, no matter the field. Being able to share this journey with her, learning from her every step of the way, makes the work even more meaningful and rewarding."

When she’s not on the job site, you might find Kennie spending time with her husband outdoors, fishing, hunting, riding horses, or hanging out with their kids and twelve grandkids.

Thanks for your leadership and expertise, Kennie! We're so grateful to have you on the team.

___
Photo 1: Kennie and her daughter Quinn
Photo 2: NAWIC Phoenix Chapter President Michelle Dinan-Cardone, Kennie, and Phoenix chapter President-Elect CAROL HAGEN

10/21/2024

We are thrilled to have Dean on our Chanen Team!

PHOENIX, AZ — Commercial construction specialist Chanen Construction, a Dick Anderson Construction (DAC) company, announces Dean Howard as Vice President of Business Development to help lead the company into a new era. In this role, Howard will help unify the building expertise of Chanen and DAC t...

04/22/2024

EARTH DAY 2024

04/15/2024

Looks like a whacky good time as our client's, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, students raised $30,000 for St. Baldrick's pediatric cancer research at SOMA's Shave for Change event in a continued commitment to community service.

04/12/2024

FRIDAY FUNNIES:
Dicey location for a pooch but, as at least one employee occasionally brings her Dalmatian puppy to the corporate office, we get it 😄

Thanks, Dan, for the creative and funny cartoons.

04/11/2024

THROWBACK THURSDAY:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, multiple new replacement 3-story student residences. Part of a $4.2B, 16-campus wide bond and non-bond improvement program, completed in 2007.

04/05/2024

FRIDAY FUNNIES:
Always a good idea to estimate twice so you only have to build once.

04/02/2024

UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS

03/28/2024

THROWBACK THURSDAY:
Murray and Venerable Halls, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
Part of a $4.2B bond and non-bond project, this was a 16-campus wide, 10-year project, which was completed three years ahead of schedule in 2007.

Murray and Venerable Halls, part of New Science Complex:

Architect – William Wilson Architects, Boston Mass
Approx. 114,000 s.f., Department of Marine Sciences