To say that Jenny Choi is a rising star here at VPCS is a bit of an understatement. In just the three years since she joined us in 2018, she has gone from being an administrative assistant to serving as a project manager within the $297 million Pleasanton Unified School District bond program. Eric Van Pelt describes Jenny as someone who dives in head-first to address issues that come up so projects can keep moving forward. “Her attention to detail is amazing,” says Eric. “She double- and triple-checks everything.”
We sat down with Jenny to learn more about her devotion to her job and her other pursuits.
How has your role at VPCS evolved since you first joined us?
I’d been working as a project admin at a mechanical contractor company, but I was interested in learning more about construction management. I saw an opening at Van Pelt for an admin, so that’s how I started here – helping the team on the work we were doing at San Jose Unified. I learned a lot about this business that first year and really studied how the project managers did their jobs. Pretty soon, I said, “I could do that,” so I asked if I could transition to a different role. The timing was right, because the Pleasanton program needed more PMs at that point. So that’s where I am now, working on district-wide improvements and also the new science building at Amador High School. It’s complicated work but I really like it.
What skills helped you move up so quickly within the organization?
When I started, I was the only female in the San Jose Unified group [run by Eric Berger] and also I was the admin. I was so shy at first, but I still was really curious about learning more. I was lucky to work for Eric, who really cares about workflow efficiencies, so I asked him if I could suggest a few process improvements. He knew I wanted to get more involved, so he was great about encouraging me to observe the PMs’ processes so I could get explore how things might run more smoothly for our team and the district. That helped bring me out of my shell a bit and also showed the managers that I’m really interested in the teamwork side of this business. I’ve always had great managers at VPCS.
You recently had a big event in your life. Can you tell us more about that?
Yes! Just a few weeks ago, I passed my citizenship test and became a naturalized American citizen. I moved to the U.S. from Hong Kong when I was 12 because my parents wanted my sister and me to be able to do whatever we wanted in life. So I went to middle school and high school in the Bay Area, then onto college at Cal (where I got a bachelor’s in engineering physics) and Chabot College (where I got a degree in music performance). All this time, I’ve had a green card and never really thought about becoming a citizen. But in late 2019, I realized my passport was going to expire so it occurred to me that it would be a great time to apply for citizenship. The pandemic slowed things down a bit, but after doing all the “biometrics” – the fingerprinting, background check, and all that – all I had left to do was take the test. Then all of a sudden one day last month, I got a notice that they’d scheduled me for the test. So I took the day off, went into San Francisco, took the test, passed it, and did the swearing-in ceremony. All in one day! It was pretty emotional to turn in my green card; I’d had it for so long and always needed it. Now I don’t need anything to prove my status; I’m just American!
You probably use your science degree frequently in your work life. How do you use your music degree?
I perform in the Chabot College Wind Symphony. In third grade, when I still lived in Hong Kong, we needed to choose our extracurricular classes. My sister, who’s older, had chosen percussion and told me, “You get to hit stuff; it’s fun.” So that’s how I started. But it’s a lot more work than just hitting stuff. In fact, I almost quit early on because of all the work. But my instructor said I had talent, so I kept going. Then we moved to the U.S. and I found that I could play percussion instruments here too. I kept it up and still play today. I’m proud that I’ve stuck with it for so long. When you’re playing and performing music, you have to be so focused. It really calms me down; it’s a great way to recharge.
Other than music, what else do you enjoy doing in your off hours?
My sister and I love going to Disneyland. (In fact, you’ll see the Disney logo on the sweatshirt I’m wearing in the picture that’s posted with this blog.) It’s not that far from home and it’s a sanctuary for us. When we go there, we can explore new things, eat different things, see pretty things, and just enjoy the adventure of it. Before the pandemic, we’d go for birthdays and holidays and now that things are starting to open back up we hope to get back to that. I think of Disneyland as a place that can take you away from your daily life and helps you dream a little bit.
Managing construction projects means tracking an enormous number of details. It also means communicating information to key audiences when those details affect them. On K-12 school sites, we share this responsibility with districts, site staff and other local entities. Still, in spite of our collective best efforts, information sometimes gets misinterpreted. One of our most important jobs is minimizing the spread of misinformation and, if rumors do start to circulate, making sure people get the facts as quickly as possible.
VPCS Project Manager Prachi Amin has seen this kind of thing from different angles throughout her career. Before she began her current assignment of overseeing projects at numerous schools in the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), Prachi worked as a facilities director for other districts. Here, Prachi talks about some of the tricks of the trade when it comes to controlling the rumor mill.
How does VPCS typically share project-related communications with audiences?
I’ll use DJUSD as an example. Here, we’ve sent out detailed letters to the community and the neighborhood residents informing them all about the projects – start dates, durations, etc. We also share contact information for the contractor, the construction superintendent, the district’s facilities office and the project manager (me) so people can reach us with questions. In conjunction with the outreach that VPCS has done, the district has notified the site parents through their communications department and has also published information at meetings of the school board, the citizens’ board oversight committee and school PTAs.
Why is it so important to keep school communities in the loop about project details?
Because what we do often affects them directly. For one thing, construction work starts early in the morning. So we usually have vehicles coming and going not just through the school site itself, but also through the streets parents use when dropping off and picking up students. Of course, we always tell the contractors not to schedule deliveries during those high-traffic times, but it’s still really important to make sure families know what to expect.
What types of things do you need to inform neighbors about?
Almost all of the same things we communicate to school families, since anyone who lives near a school site will be affected by the same traffic and scheduling concerns. But with neighbors, we also always inform them about noise. Even though we follow city noise ordinances very carefully, construction projects are just loud; there’s no way around that. So that’s an area where we put a lot of effort into managing expectations just so the folks who live nearby really understand how the projects might affect them.
What can happen when information gets misinterpreted?
Schedule delays and cost overruns, of course. But mostly, just confusion and ill will that we then need to clear up. I’ll give you an example: one time, I was walking a site with the head custodian, district plumber and contractor and we were talking about a water shut-down that was planned for a long weekend about six weeks later. Within an hour, I got an urgent call from the school district superintendent who told me the teachers’ union had filed a grievance and parents were also upset. It turns out, someone had overheard us and assumed the water shut-down was imminent, spread the rumor and then that incorrect information got around very quickly. We were able to rein it all in, but it took some time and a lot of work to assure everyone that we weren’t planning to turn off the water while students and staff were on site.
How do anecdotal examples like that affect the way you do your job?
At VPCS, we’re always looking for ways to improve our processes, so anything that happens differently than how we expect it to is an opportunity for a lesson learned. That goes for how we communicate to school communities, clients, fire departments and everybody.
What’s the best way to dispel rumors and misinformation?
Transparency and consistency. That’s it. The more we communicate, the less likely people will be to misunderstand or misinterpret what we’re doing. We get really specific with the details so people will know exactly what to expect and when. It’s also really important to work closely with district leadership and local safety authorities like the fire and police departments. When we’re all aligned and sharing the same information with the public, rumors are less likely to spark. Construction is a very dynamic undertaking, so part of our job is adapting to constant change. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep the lines of communication open so the people affected by our work have accurate, up-to-date information.
VPCS is thrilled and humbled to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. We’ve kicked off the festivities with an updated company logo and a spruced-up website, now expanded to include rich details on our portfolio, our team and more. Please take a tour to see all the new content.
We also wanted to hear from our founders, Mark and Mike Van Pelt, and ask them to reflect on the firm’s first quarter-century. Here are some highlights from that conversation:
How does it feel to hit this milestone?
Mike: I do sometimes wonder how we went from being just the two of us scrambling for work to becoming a fairly well known and well respected entity. We broke into an industry that was sort of new and unknown when we started and now we’ve got more than 50 employees and we’re one of the firms that people are really talking about.
Mark: I agree. It’s weird when your name becomes a thing; when you sit in a meeting and people are talking about Van Pelt as an entity and you realize, “Hey, that’s us!” It’s amazing to think how fast all of it has gone by.
What have been the keys to the firm’s success?
Mark: It’s all been about staying true to what we did from the very beginning – doing things the right way, delivering quality products and bending over backwards for clients. Then training each new employee to honor those same commitments. We’ve started calling it “The VPCS Way,” which is about getting to the heart of what sets us apart. It’s our secret sauce. Mike and I aren’t running projects anymore; we’re overseeing our people. So it’s up to them to maintain the company’s reputation and they’re doing a great job with that.
Did you ever imagine the firm would get this far?
Mike: I hoped it would, but I’m not sure I assumed it would. One advantage we have is that Mark and I have always gotten along really well and made decisions together. We’ve also always done things the way our dad used to – using common sense and not rushing to judgment. Back in 1996 when we were meeting with an attorney about forming the company, she warned us that family businesses don’t always work out. I took a piece of paper and drew two intersecting lines and said, “I’m the horizontal line and Mark’s the vertical line. We always work together and that’s why we can make this work.” That seemed to make sense to her. As for us, we never had a doubt.
Mark: I always knew we’d make it, but I never imagined we’d get this big. Together, Mike and I had no fear. Neither one of us could have done what we’ve done without each other. We just wanted to make a living. But to reach the point of having 50 employees and pondering growing even further? Never.
Was it tough starting out as small fish in a big pond?
Mark: There’s a funny story I like to tell from back when we were a young company. We’d done well enough to buy a few trucks; we got four little Ford Rangers and had our logos painted on the sides. But we were always going up against national firms that would come into interviews with big teams of people; they looked like they came with their own horn sections! So we decided to number those trucks, but not with 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nope. We numbered them something like 101, 748, 359 and 238. A sly little trick, but it must have worked. Now we go up against those big firms all the time and we’re often the ones to beat.
What do you envision for the next 25 years of VPCS?
Mike: I foresee the kids [Kelli Van Pelt Jurgenson and Eric Van Pelt] taking it over and continuing the legacy. They learned the way from Mark and me, and we now see them teaching others how to do things that way. There’s no reason why that can’t continue on while Mark and I go bass fishing and play a bit more golf and take the grandkids to Disneyland. The goal is to keep it going so the legacy of the company will continue on.
Mark: Absolutely. One of the things that Kelli and Eric bring to the company is enthusiasm and an interest in making the company and our product even better with innovation and new technologies. It’s fun for us to watch the younger Van Pelts taking on the tasks that we did when we started. I want to see this thing go on for 100 years, even though I won’t be around to watch it. It’s fun to think that maybe our grandkids end up getting involved.
What are you most proud of when you look back?
Mike: Our people. They’re such hard workers and they do things the Van Pelt way and that’s why we’re as successful as we are. At every one of our company holiday parties, I always tell our employees that they make it so much easier for Mark and me to sleep at night. They’re just great at their jobs and they’re great to have on our team.
Mark: I agree 100%. Plus, being able to put something together from scratch that’s provided good livings for so many people. I also really enjoy what I do, and that’s pretty fun.
Like Van Pelt Construction Services, the green building movement came to be in the 1990s. The growth of our firm has paralleled the growth of sustainable practices in the construction industry – particularly on school sites. In fact, our founders, Mark and Mike Van Pelt, lent their expertise to California’s utilities prior to the 1999 launch of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), a statewide effort to improve energy efficiency on K-12 campuses.
Since then, both VPCS and sustainability have strengthened and expanded. Incorporating environmentally-friendly design features into construction projects has become the new normal in our industry. All of us have become well-versed in the systems and technologies that help make buildings more ecologically sound.
The way I see it, these are the keys to what makes VPCS adept at this aspect of our work:
Education. We rarely encounter any resistance to sustainable practices. However, it’s not unusual to have clients question the up-front costs often associated with such features. When that happens, it’s our job to demonstrate the long-term value (economic, environmental, and societal) of sustainable design and construction. For example, a more efficient HVAC system may cost more to purchase and/or install, but its operating costs will be far lower over the life of the building. As owners’ reps, our responsibility is to prove how sustainability pencils out in our clients’ favor.
Experience. Our depth of knowledge is always an advantage for our clients. When discussing with planning teams how best to incorporate eco-friendly elements into projects, we can recommend features based on what we’ve seen first-hand on previous assignments. From adding modest solar arrays to achieving full LEED Platinum certifications, we’ve tackled a range of green challenges. So we know what is most effective and economical when it comes to different building types, client goals, and budgetary realities.
Ethos. A commitment to sustainability is woven into the VPCS company culture. We make sure all personnel are up to date with the latest approaches, we have a growing number of staff members who have obtained green building certifications, and we have a reputation among our peers for our dedication to sustainable practices.
Interestingly, the coronavirus also has a place in this discussion. As the pandemic has elevated concerns about indoor air quality, most construction project teams are now exploring options for upgraded HVAC systems to enhance circulation and improve filtering. There is even talk about permanently adjusting state building codes to require 100% fresh air systems in school structures, which will lead to upgrades in mechanical systems in schools throughout California. While this is an immediate response to our current infection control concerns, buildings (and their occupants) will reap the benefits well past the COVID era.
Our industry is shifting to accommodate changes in the climate as well as changes in awareness regarding building design and performance. As construction professionals, we have a responsibility not merely to keep up but to lead the way. Improving energy efficiency, drawing from renewable sources, incorporating water reuse strategies, minimizing waste, and opting for less toxic materials are just a few of the ways we can contribute to a more sustainable built environment. It may take a bit more work and a few more dollars today, but the value it will bring to our projects will endure. At VPCS, we believe in being equally good stewards of our clients, our communities, and our planet.
In 2016, VPCS was proud to receive the program management (PM) assignment for the San Rafael City Schools’ (SRCS) $269 million district-wide improvements funded by bond Measures A and B. Since then, our team has worked side by side with district staff, architects, contractors and consultants to keep things progressing smoothly. Leading the effort on the district side is Dr. Dan Zaich, SRCS’s senior director of capital improvements, sustainable design and construction.
We spoke with Dan about some of the benefits of working with a PM firm for large-scale efforts such as this.
Q: How was having access to a PM firm helpful to SRCS as you got up and running with your bond work?
Zaich: Getting started with the bond-funded work was particularly challenging for San Rafael City Schools because we had gotten a large donation to start renovating the high school football stadium just before the bond measures passed. So before we could even gear up for the bond program, we had a multimillion dollar project already in progress. At the same time, Prop 51 was passed and districts were seeking matching state funds for their bonds, which created a very competitive market dynamic. Like most small- to mid-sized districts, we don’t staff a capital facilities division, so we had to create one from scratch when the measures passed. When VPCS came on board, they jumped in and helped us figure out what we needed to do to get up and running very quickly. I attribute a lot of that to Mark Van Pelt’s leadership. He did an enormous amount to get us underway and make sure we had the right personnel.
Q: What big-picture advantages does it give a school district to work with a program management firm?
Zaich: On big programs like this, a lot of it boils down to the personnel you have. In a really competitive market, which is what we’re in, it’s hard to get the right people. You need to know who will be best on the construction management side versus who’s going to be best on the program management side. VPCS – specifically, Mark Van Pelt and Bill Savage – worked with me directly to get the right staff in place not only so we could all gel well as a team but also so we could be a lean, cost-effective machine. From the beginning, it’s been so important for us to gain the trust of the citizens bond oversight committee, the individual school communities and, to a larger extent, the community of San Rafael because we need to show them we’re being prudent with the funds we’ve been given.
Q: What makes a program manager effective?
Zaich: Taking the time to build the business relationships to make sure everyone is successful while working together, rather than highlighting just one person or one place or one project. A bond program is a machine that we build together, so we all have to be successful together. That’s what has made VPCS so valuable for us. They helped us set our most critical goals early amid a lot of pressure and challenge because our program was already out the door and running before we could even get ourselves moved into the office. It’s also important to know the subtleties of working within the unique organizational structure of a school district, which is different than what a lot of construction management firms are used to. The Van Pelt team has been able to blend right in with our staff in the district office because they know those norms. Patti Llamas and Phyllis Silverstein have both been great about that. In fact, I think of Patti like one of those characters in a movie who’s reaching her hand out of a fast-moving train to pull a friend on board while the train’s flying down the tracks. That’s what she does here all the time when she brings people up to speed on what’s going on with the program. But that’s typical of VPCS; they embody that attitude of, “We’ll all stick together and go the extra mile to get it done.” I don’t know a lot of CMs or PMs who would do that. It says a lot about their dedication.
