Founding Voices: Kendall Lettinga on Finding the Community That Didn't Exist Yet

Every organization has an origin story, and it's the people behind that story who bring it to life. In our Founding Voices series, we're sitting down with the women who helped establish Professional Women in Construction (PWC) Chicago to reflect on the early days of the chapter, how it has evolved, and what its continued growth means to them.

For Founding Board Member Kendall Lettinga, now Executive Vice President of Operations at a vertically integrated real estate developer and contractor, joining PWC Chicago wasn't about adding another line to her resume. After nearly 20 years in the industry, it was the first time she found a professional home that actually fit.

Founding Board Member, Kendall Lettinga, networking at the Spring Panel, April 2022.

A Network Built on the Operational Side, Looking In

Kendall's career has centered on operations, a lane that didn't map neatly onto industry groups built primarily around contracting, development, or finance. At other events, she often felt like an outsider.

"I did not feel that I had a natural place within organizations centered primarily on contracting, development, or finance," she says.

What she wanted was broader: relationships with architects, engineers, attorneys, and consultants, not just fellow contractors and developers. When PWC's mission crossed her path, it was the first organization that brought all of those disciplines into one room.

The industry's success depends on collaboration across disciplines, but the day-to-day reality often pulls professionals into their own silos. Kendall sees PWC Chicago as a direct counter to that.

She now has a broad network she can call on, architects, engineers, attorneys, consultants, and fellow contractors, when she's working through a challenge or wants a perspective outside her own discipline.

That network isn't theoretical. It's something she actually uses, on real problems, in her current role leading operations for a vertically integrated developer and contractor.

Kendall Lettinga with other founding Board Members at the Inaugural PWC Chicago Event, October 2021.

Launching in 2021, Without a Roadmap

Starting up a new chapter and its first events in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic came with obvious logistical hurdles. But it also revealed something the founding board hadn't fully anticipated.

"The level of interest demonstrated how much demand existed for an organization like PWC Chicago," Kendall recalls. People wanted a place to build real relationships and feel welcomed from the moment they walked in.

That demand came at a cost. Every founding board member was already carrying a demanding leadership role in her day job, and building PWC Chicago on top of that took real sacrifice.

Watching the board commit that much time and energy, driven by a shared belief in the mission, is what Kendall still finds most inspiring about those early days.

Skipping the Symbolism, Going Straight to Action

The founding board's vision started with the mission: changing the professional dynamic for women and underrepresented groups in the industry. But Kendall is quick to point out what that vision was not.

"We did not want to simply talk about the importance of inclusion or offer symbolic support," she says. The board wanted programming, opportunities, and relationships that could genuinely move the industry forward.

Keeping senior leaders visible and engaged was part of that strategy, giving people newer to the industry direct access to mentors and a clearer view of what a path to leadership could look like.

That founding vision hasn't changed. What's changed is its reach, as the chapter has grown, so has its ability to offer more opportunities and build a stronger community across Chicago's AEC industry.

Kendall smiles with PWC Members at the Spring Panel, April 2023.

The Milestone: A Reputation That Doesn't Feel Like an Accident

Ask Kendall what she's proudest of, and she doesn't point to a single event. She points to how people describe PWC Chicago after they've been to one.

Conversations are open. Groups are approachable. People feel comfortable introducing themselves and joining in, without the room ever feeling cliquey or closed off.

"That culture did not happen by accident," she says. It's the product of deliberate effort from the board, committees, volunteers, and members to make sure people feel seen. Someone arriving alone and leaving with real connections is, in her view, one of the chapter's biggest wins.

"For the first time in my career, I have developed a trusted community of women who genuinely support and encourage one another," Kendall says.

She has peers now who she can turn to when facing a challenge, weighing an opportunity, or just wanting an honest gut check, people she trusts to genuinely want her to succeed.

That kind of support, she says, has made her a more confident and thoughtful leader, and it's reinforced how important it is to build that same community for other women coming up in the industry.

The Leadership Lessons She Keeps Coming Back To

Kendall's advice to members eyeing a committee seat or a future leadership role is practical, not aspirational.

"Attending events is a valuable first step, but volunteering and participating in smaller programs are often where relationships begin to deepen," she says, pointing to options like volunteering at an event, helping run the "Flying Solo" area, joining a committee, or taking part in a mentorship program.

In her view, getting involved isn't a positioning move for a future title. It's about showing up consistently and investing in relationships, leadership tends to follow from that, not the other way around.

Early in her career, moving from an individual contributor role into managing a team, Kendall had the chance to mentor someone into a higher-level role. It reshaped how she thinks about leadership entirely.

"The growth of my team was not separate from my own success, it was one of the clearest measures of it," she says.

That belief still shapes how she leads and mentors today, with the conviction that developing others strengthens the whole organization, not just the individual.

Leading with genuine care, honest and direct feedback, and humility, Kendall says, can create huge opportunities across an organization, and it's the same philosophy she's brought to building PWC Chicago from the ground up.