There’s the spectacular, nine-story San Diego Public Library, with its distinctive dome. As project executive, she was in charge of the building’s construction. There’s also the Ten Fifty B apartments, 23 stories of affordable but stylish housing built to demanding Gold LEED standards for sustainable construction. A new 16-story headquarters for Sempra Energy is her current project.

Vann is an executive of Turner Construction, a general contractor with offices around the country. If you guessed that her specialties are complex projects and big, impressive buildings, you would be right. But there’s more to it.

“I look at my projects as opportunities to give something back to the community,” she says. “I’ve been really fortunate to work on projects that do just that – provide some type of service, opportunity or facility that the public benefits from.

“It keeps me going, because it’s not easy – late nights, early mornings, stress. This isn’t for the faint of heart.”

Vann’s commitment to her work has drawn recognition from her community. This year she was named a San Diego Woman of Influence by a local business publication and a Cool Woman of San Diego by the local Girl Scouts, a group she supports enthusiastically (“I’m really excited about what they’re doing with our young ladies and the vision they’re providing.”).

Her impact on the community goes beyond her work. She was a founder of an industry group called Foundations for Success that works with at-risk and underrepresented youth to expose them to careers in construction, engineering and architecture.

“We wanted to provide a vision for those who may have, because of their own circumstances, limited vision,” she says.

It helps that the products of those professions are so visible, tangible and often inspiring. It was that mix of qualities that first drew her to what would become her profession. Growing up in Washington, she attended programs at the Smithsonian and other institutions that introduced her to architecture and construction.

“I spent the majority of my summers in learning and advancing my overall interest in engineering and construction,” she says.

North Carolina A&T was a natural choice for college, particularly because she wanted to attend a historically black school. Vann started out as an architectural engineering major but realized her interest was in building the structures and switched to construction management.

Her start in the industry came as a junior construction engineer working on scheduling for her uncle’s construction management firm in New Jersey. She moved to Nashville to work for a homebuilder, where she learned the meaning of “lean” before the term became an industry buzzword for efficient production with as little waste as possible.

By the time she joined Turner in Nashville, she had experience managing the full range of construction disciplines and trades. And she had learned the value of teamwork and relationships in bringing projects in on time and on budget.

“I consider myself a resource manager,” she says. “You really have to put the right people in the right place and keep them efficient. And that’s beyond a dollar-and-cents game.”

Since moving to San Diego, Vann has been able to apply her skills to a remarkable range of projects. The Ten Fifty B affordable housing apartments remain close to her heart because they give people with limited incomes the opportunity to live with dignity in quality homes. Other projects had different types of appeal, like San Diego’s flashy Hard Rock Hotel.

As disparate as those buildings are, they drew the same level of commitment that generates the recognition Vann has received.

“I’m very passionate about what I do,” she says. “When it gets rough, having that greater sense of purpose and passion for what you’re doing, it really helps you get through those tough times.”

To hear Vann talk about the San Diego Public Library project, click here.

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