STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Staff Spotlight with Tania Nunez

You would have had to be living under a rock not to notice all of the construction happening on campus this summer. From the north end of campus and the parking structure V project, to the new River View residential housing to the groundbreaking of Science II and the University Union expansion in the center of campus – we are growing! Administration and Business Affairs is such a diverse division that many of us feel connected to all of the great projects on campus.

However, it seems that no one is more connected than Tania Nunez (pictured, left). Tania is one of three project managers in ABA’s Facilities Management, Planning, Design and Construction team.

She is charged with managing three of the largest construction projects currently on campus, parking structure V, the River View Residential Housing project and Science II. One might ask, how could one person possibly manage so many large projects? It turns out that Tania has a very unique skillset that has prepared her for this exact role.  

Tania has been breaking down social norms for most of her life. She went into the traditionally male dominated field of architecture at University of Southern California. While there she challenged the norms of a typical finish in four mentality, and decided to pursue the rigorous five year track where she would go on to earn not just a bachelor of arts or sciences, but the coveted, Bachelor of Architecture degree. Of course she didn’t stop there. She applied and was accepted into the prestigious Gamble House internship, where she was fortunate enough to be one of two fifth-year undergraduates to live at the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. During her time at the Gamble House, Tania really struck an interest in historical preservation within the field of architecture. As she put it, “living in a historical monument for a year really puts things in perspective when you consider design, convenience and history.” It was this experience that led Tania to her next stop in her career, another unique scope in a broad stroke of the world of architecture.

She applied to some of the best historical preservation programs in the country and settled on Columbia University’s program in New York City. Tania earned her master’s degree in historical preservation and ended up staying in New York for five years. In those five years Tania honed her expertise in historical buildings, construction and design by working for the public sector. As she notes, “unlike cities in the western region of the United States, many of the old buildings in New York City house city related functions. Therefore, the public schools, community college and even the jail, are housed the oldest buildings in the city.” With that, as you can imagine, requires a unique skillset, and Tania had it! With her experience in architecture and historical buildings she quickly found her niche.

Just like all the years before, Tania was really unique in the architecture world, because she enjoyed the construction administration phase of architecture. “Most architects love the design side of projects because it is organized and structured, they don’t like the construction side because it is chaotic and unpredictable. Architects have to make realistic adjustments in construction because the design in practice doesn’t always match up with their vision. They have to be more flexible,” Tania said. Tania quickly filled a specific need for many architecture firms because she was both knowledgeable about the design and was capable of the project management as well. As if she could drill down to an even more unique skillset, she did and managed to become a leading female on teams that were dominated by men.

Ultimately Tania and her husband wanted to relocate back home to California to be closer to family and did a short stint in the bay area and then settled in Sacramento. When the position opened at Sacramento State for project manager, Tania knew it would be the perfect opportunity to make the inevitable decision to shift careers away from architecture and towards construction. Tania describes what she loves the most about her job, “I love seeing the building going up day by day and problem solving along the way. I really enjoy the challenge of finding cost efficiencies and trouble shooting.” That is exactly what she is doing with her current projects. Ultimately what has kept her intrigued in her current position is the fun and challenge of meeting the unique campus schedule and demands. “The impact you have as a project manager is intense. The projects I work on influence so many people. The community is impacted in both negative and positive ways, and you have to think about all of those things in your project – that is what I enjoy thinking about.” Tania knows how to adapt, she has been doing that her whole career, but especially now in higher education, where every decision matters and affects a huge chain of events.

This shift is much like the shift she made many times before in her career, becoming Sacramento State’s first female project manager. When she went to school, only twenty-percent of her class was female, now that percentage has evened out substantially to about 41%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. However, in the world of construction, the players are still typically male. Especially in the trades, where it is rather rare to see a female team member. However, Tania doesn’t feel like it matters much at all that she is sometimes the only woman on the construction site.  She says, “It doesn’t matter to me at all, well, except those days when I am wearing heels to a meeting with the President and then have to run over to the site. But, I just adapt and have my boots ready to go.” Sometimes Tania gets a couple second looks, or a few of the guys hush their normal jargon when they see her coming. “Sure, guys will remind each other that a lady is on site, and to watch their language. It always makes me laugh.” Really it is about a long standing tradition of construction being a man’s workplace. Those stereotypes have taken decades to be built, and as Tania notes, “it will take decades to bring down.”

One shining example of that shift in culture is the unique leadership of Tania’s soon-to-be completed project, River View residential. The construction project manager, Melissa Barranchea, with Otto Construction is a proud Made at Sac State alumnus and a woman. “It is great working with Melissa on the construction site. She is making some great progress on breaking down those stereotypes that women do not belong in this field.” I think all can agree that it doesn’t matter that Tania and Melissa are women in construction, what matters is that they are passionate about their projects and meeting the needs of their clients and ultimately the students at Sac State. What more could we ask for?

Check out some of the highlights from Tania’s current projects below:

River View Residential Hall (opening August 2017)

  • Two-story cardio fitness center with iPad screens to program individual exercise sessions like yoga
  • State of the art movie room
  • Computer and gaming room
  • Focus on spaces where students can come together and collaborate and build relationships that will hopefully outpace the limited time they are in residential life

Parking Structure V (opening January 2018)

  • The timeline of the parking structure really makes this one special. It is going to be open in only one semester, which is unprecedented
  • Each wall of the structure will be built like Lego concrete pieces in Woodland and delivered to the campus
  • The structure will be LEED Gold certified, one of first of its kind in the CSU system

Science II (opening fall 2019)

  • The first new construction academic building since Benicia Hall in 2012
  • Living science model, where science will be on display with clear glass floor to ceiling on the first level
  • The ability to see inside to outside as students conduct their labs
  • The history of Sacramento State is being incorporated into the building design with trees and river theme  
  • The team is using a new delivery method that is very collaborative called design build model. This model allows for the builder, contractor, architect and client all to be on the same team throughout the project to ensure the best possible service to the client

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ABA FOCUS
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