Resilience helps Jamie Clapp rise to meet the challenges

Jamie Clapp grew up in a construction family. As the young manager of a national plumbing distribution company — and a licensed contractor at the time — she was fully aware of the difference between an isolation valve, couplings, and flanges. 

When a man entered the Las Vegas store and saw Jamie alone at the counter, he made a simple inquiry.  

“I have a technical question and need help with a pressure relief valve,” the man said, making it clear he felt Jamie was no more than a clerk. 

Jamie began to answer. 

“He interrupted me and let me know that he’d rather not explain his issue twice and needed a guy to help him,” Jamie recalled recently, explaining how the situation presented her with a couple alternatives. 

At the time, Jamie had many customers that came to her on a regular basis for technical advice. She also knew the man’s behavior stemmed from outdated perspectives and had nothing to do with her personally. 

“Eventually, I began to see those situations as an opportunity to help quash preconceived notions,” she said. “Even as a 22-year-old working there, I had been asked time and time again if my dad owned the company — and that day, I finally felt the need to speak up for myself. That situation helped me to build grit and resilience and taught me a lot about myself.” 

Early Days and Advocating for Change 

Jamie grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico as one of four daughters in an entrepreneurial family. Her parents owned a carpet-cleaning business, and she recalled spending a lot of time at their office. 

Her mom, Tammy Litts, later became a certified public accountant while her father, Dale Breese, continued to run small businesses as a contractor, and later as a distributor. 

“My love for the operational side comes from him, because he always owned his own business,” said Jamie, who never forgot the time her dad had her write a business plan for him while she was still in high school. “I was totally a business nerd in high school. When I was in college, I became a licensed concrete contractor doing decorative concrete with him, so I picked up that work ethic right away.” 

A lot of Jamie’s personality comes from her mom. 

“She has been one of my biggest mentors and heroes,” Jamie said. “She was a single parent for a long time and worked in the service industry and non-traditional jobs before taking on a finance career path.” 

Jamie’s mom instilled some important lessons. 

“She taught us all that at the end of the day, you have to be able to trust and rely on yourself,” Jamie said. “Once you do that, your results are a direct reflection of your efforts. She taught us about the value of building relationships and connections, too.” 

Jamie attended New Mexico State University with a double-major in supply chain management and human resources management. When she returned home during her senior year, she told her friends she had picked up a general contractor’s license in concrete flooring. 

“Nobody in my friend group was surprised,” Jamie said. “Even now when I tell people I work for McCarthy, I don’t get many side-eyes or confused looks. I think it’s become normal, which is one of the biggest strides women in construction have made in recent years – that we’re in construction and we should be there.” 

What needs to be done to empower more women in the construction industry? 

“It takes allyship,” Jamie explained. “A genuine understanding from men and women on some of the barriers and struggles for women growing up in construction or having a construction career. We need to work together to dispel the myths and advocate for each other.” 

Hoping to set an example in the construction field, Jamie was asked about insights and strategies to help enhance women’s careers and personal growth. 

“Resilience for women in construction is really important,” she said, “because we’re in an industry that for hundreds of years has been male-dominated so we’re going to have a lot of adversity just by nature – and a lot of it unintentional. 

“Sometimes when adversity hits you, you take it personally and you have a choice. Do you get frustrated, or do you see it as a learning opportunity to help yourself?” 

Being able to overcome past obstacles and preconceived notions is a significant part of it. 

“I believe allyship and mentorship are both important tools,” Jamie said. “It’s having the open-mindedness to help everybody. Allyship is the best way to approach that.” 

The importance of mentors 

Speaking of mentors, Jamie has benefited greatly from Chief Financial Officer Kris Newman, a neighbor in the Phoenix office.  

“She’s so down to earth and genuine with people — and I think that’s a big reason she’s gotten to where she is today,” Jamie said. “We were in a 1 on 1 for a meet-and-greet and she charted out the basics of the ESOP on a napkin. She told me ‘Now my job is to figure out how to protect that.”’ 

That was something Jamie hadn’t expected from the future CFO. 

“By the end of the conversation she told me ‘You’re an employee-owner, you deserve to know what’s happening at all levels of this company. That’s where everything hit home for me. She had such a down-to-earth personality and that’s the type of humility we can all learn from.” 

Jamie began her McCarthy career as an L&D Manager in charge of peer group and ad-hoc training for salaried partners. She’s now integrated with the Renewable Energy and National Water groups, working with strategy and leveraging national and regional programs, needs, trends and development plans. 

Fun family times 

Growing up in Albuquerque gave Jamie a great appreciation for the traditional green chile pepper found in a variety of Southwestern dishes. 

Jamie and husband Rich have two sweet and adventurous daughters.  Both are active in Girl Scouts and Jamie is an active Girl Scout mom. 

“I think our affinity for entrepreneurship runs deep in the family because both girls have sold so many cookies,” Jamie said. “It might be part of our overachieving nature. We sell cookies during family walks and in the first week, we sold 300 boxes!” 

Jamie met Rich 17 years ago while both were working for the same construction distribution company. 

“He is very much a SoCal guy and I’m a New Mexico desert girl, so it’s a good balance between the two of us,” Jamie said. “We also love to travel and I’m a big fan of the all-inclusive resorts we visit as part of our vacation club.” 

As a mother herself, Jamie advocates for the importance of work-life balance. 

“It’s all about what does your family dynamic look like,” Jamie said, “and what works best for you.”