Better America

President

Alvarado Construction, Inc.

Linda Alvarado was brought up in a highly competitive family with five brothers and no sisters. “Both my grandfathers were Protestant ministers which was a little unusual because we are Hispanic. As you might imagine, our life revolved around the church,” recalls Linda.

“My parents were very, very, positive people. It was clear what your priorities were growing up. There were high expectations in school, that not only would you bring home an A, but you would tell them what you had learned.”

Early on, she learned the value of teamwork by playing sports with her brothers as well as by participating in competitive sports throughout her school days. “In athletic competition, sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But the important thing that I learned is that you continue to get better. Your mental and physical skills improve,” states Linda.

“I loved school. I thought it was terrific. I excelled at it. Although, when I got out of college I could not get a job. So I like to say that I have one of those great-unplanned careers. I finally was able to find a job with a commercial development company and went back to school when they started a construction management group.”

Linda shares with us her incredible journey on how she got started in the construction industry:

“I took very unusual classes for women, survey, estimating, and construction supervision classes. This was very non-traditional as you could imagine.”

“I liked being on the construction sites as well, watching the buildings come up out of the ground. When a super structure went up it was to me a great sense of the creative process that ended up with this structure of great permanence and beauty.”

“I started actually in a project accounting position on-site, later moved into a support position to a project manager, and as my skill level developed, moved into a project engineering function. At that time, I would have to say that the number of women in our industry was less than one percent.”

“When I started in the industry, computers were just beginning to be utilized for estimating and scheduling. One of the most important classes I took was in the early critical path scheduling, which enabled me to develop my niche.”

“At that time, women just weren’t welcomed on construction sites. I experienced graffiti being written on the walls and pictures of me in various stages of undress. Nevertheless, I worked with some really good people and I knew this was an industry that I really wanted to stay a part of.”

“Being an optimist by nature, this gave me some sense of personal mission to show that women could succeed in this field. You have to smile, because what people are looking for when I walk in the room is somebody six-foot-five and burley. And in reality, I’m five foot five.”

“As I was on these construction sites, there were very, very large projects going on. I began to dream about building a project of my own. It was a pretty modest dream at the time and I began to think of it as a possibility. I decided I would start a small construction management company.

“Of course, banks didn’t like to fund construction companies. To make a long story short, I had this great little business plan and had this blue suit and went to several banks and was rejected by all of them, six banks. My parents finally mortgaged their house for me to get going for $2,500. It was the bridge money needed to get me over the gap until I was able to get a small business loan. Perseverance and persistence have kept me going. They are very important to the extent that I believe I will outwork most people in finding a solution.”

Over the years, things have skyrocketed for Linda Alvarado and her growing team. Today, Alvarado Construction, a commercial general contracting firm based in Denver, Colorado, specializes in commercial, industrial, environmental and heavy engineering projects throughout the western United States. They are one of the fastest growing companies in their industry employing up to 450 workers with revenues in the multi-millions. Some of their projects include the Colorado Convention Center, the Navy/Marine Training Facility in Aurora, and the High Energy Research Laboratory.

Alvarado also made the history books as the first Hispanic owner of a major league baseball franchise by becoming a partner in the Colorado Rockies. Her role also marked the first time that any female entrepreneur was involved in a bid for ownership of a major league team.

The successful business owner is also a corporate director for three Fortune 150 companies, including Pitney Bowes, Cyprus Amax Minerals and Engelhard. She also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and as Commissioner of the White House Initiative for Hispanic Excellence in Education.

Among her numerous awards include, Hispanic Business Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics in America,” the 1996 United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Woman Of The Year (second time), the 1996 Revlon Business Woman Of The Year and the prestigious Sara Lee Corporation Frontrunner Award for exemplary achievement and leadership.

Alvarado is passionate about giving back to the community. At the Colorado Rockies home opener at Coors Field, she treated nearly 150 inner-city kids to attend. They not only enjoyed the game, but she personally gave them a tour of the stadium, highlighting all of the opportunities available to them from the administrative offices, to journalism, to possibly, even an ownership position, just like her.

When asked her definition of the American Dream, she responded, “I think the American Dream is a genderless and race less dream. It is a changing vision and a changing dream as well. It is looking forward. It is saying, at least in my own case, that there will be a balance between the spiritual side as well as with the business and intellectual side.”

“What I still hope for and long for is the day when people will truly be judged not based on where they came from, and their gender, but really on their ability. That is a dream that we can’t let go. America is a country of immigrants and our success is built not on everybody being alike, but on our diversity.”

So what is her secret of success? It might have something to do with getting a small jump on the rest of us. Linda manages to get by on only about four-and-a-half hours of sleep each night. While the rest of the country is asleep dreaming, Linda Alvarado is up at 3:30 a.m. working on constructing a better America for all.

Resource Information:
Alvarado Construction, Inc.