The 22-year construction industry employee to be honored
at The Daily Reporter’s annual Women in Construction Awards
MADISON, Wis.– This week, The Daily Reporter announced the 2023 Women in Construction Honorees. Stevens Construction Corp. is privileged to share its Director of Human Resources Dena Gullickson is one of this year’s groundbreaking women in construction.
Gullickson is a 22-year construction industry veteran dedicated to creating a corporate culture that emulates family. She has achieved, and continues to achieve, impressive accomplishments that nurture and bolster the Stevens culture—from office to field and across locations.
“Dena is the largest advocate for Stevens employees, both within and outside the company,” said Mark Rudnicki CEO and President. “We wouldn’t be the company we are today without her passion for employee safety, employee well-being and creating a company to call family.”
Gullickson’s successes and ongoing culture-driving efforts are extensive, some of which are highlighted below:
- She increased the Human Resources (HR) department from being the only person to a department of three employees, facilitated the opening and staffing of two additional offices, and increased employee numbers from eighty to over three hundred. She achieved this while successfully maintaining a strong family culture throughout the company as it grew.
- Gullickson was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Stevens Youth Apprenticeship Program. Through her leadership, the program continues to grow. Her outstanding work helped the company receive recognition from the Dane County School Consortium as Business Partner of the Year in 2022.
- She was the founder of the Women of Stevens program at Stevens. She created, co-organizes, and co-operates the group of women from the Madison, Milwaukee, and Minnesota offices and field. She initiated the group to ensure all female Stevens employees gather quarterly to learn how to support one another as construction employees, develop leadership skills and determine how to encourage more women to join the construction industry.
- Gullickson initiated and led efforts to obtain multiple grants from the State of Wisconsin to create a top-notch Stevens University training academy for craftspeople.
Beyond accomplishments within her role at Stevens, Gullickson is continually active in the community, working to positively impact the community and women in construction. Her community involvement includes serving as a current member and past President of the Junior League of Madison, the Latino Academy of Workforce Development’s Board of Directors as the Board Secretary, a committee member of the AGC She Builds Wisconsin group and a member of the Greater Madison Area SHRM, holding the highest HR credentials of SPHR and SHRM-SCP.
Gullickson joins several previous Women in Construction Honorees from Stevens including Megan Georgeson (2020), Alyssa Norsby Kolden (2021) and Jenny Tebon (2022).
About Stevens Construction Corp.
Stevens Construction Corp. is a large, Madison, Wisconsin-based general contractor serving various markets and project types throughout the Upper Midwest. The company’s award-winning post tension concrete and large wood frame structures for multifamily, student living, senior living, hospitality and mixed-use facilities are incorporated throughout its communities’ skylines.
In addition to wood frame structures, Stevens is a leading post-tensioned concrete frame contractor in the Midwest. Over the past decade, the company poured more than 4.5 million square feet of post-tensioned concrete on various construction projects where it served as the general contractor, construction manager or part of the design build team. This experience, along with a strong preconstruction process and budget and scheduling management, allows Stevens to provide its customers with innovative solutions and value-added efficiencies.
Founded in Milwaukee in 1952, Stevens now has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Madison and Milwaukee, with a combined staff of over three hundred employees.
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Media Contact: Kristin Larson, Marketing Specialist, Stevens Construction Corp., 608.222.5100
