Dunn helps to foster inclusiveness in industry at CG Schmidt

Sarah Dunn –
CG Schmidt

Sarah Dunn began her career with CG Schmidt 12 years ago as the business development manager and, in 2019, became its first female executive.

Under her leadership, its Madison office has grown quickly measured by its sales and revenue.

This year, Dunn was promoted to senior vice president and assumed business development and sales responsibilities for the company’s Milwaukee and Madison offices.

“During her tenure, she has cultivated relationships with new clients, grown existing clients through strategic partnerships and has an impressive referendum success rate for school districts throughout Wisconsin,” said President Eric Schmidt.

Additionally, Dunn developed an equitable workforce-development plan for the multi-phased Racine Works Program, having the goal of providing construction employment opportunities to small and minority-owned businesses and others. The first phase achieved 48% participation from emerging business, exceeding the established 25% goal. As a result, the Racine mayor adopted the system as a standard workforce plan for the city’s development projects.

Dunn serves as a mentor for the Edgewood High School Career Counseling and Guidance Department, offering students hands-on opportunities by exposing them to careers in construction.

She also helps others seek out mentors, as well as serving as a mentor herself. She seeks to use the wisdom and experiences she has gained to help other women build careers in an industry in which women are still not commonly found.

“I want to show women of all ages that construction isn’t just for men. It’s an exciting, rewarding field for everyone, even if you’re not on a jobsite,” Dunn said. “While the make-up of the industry is already pretty different from a decade or two ago, we know it’s going to be a slow journey to gender equity as we’re essentially building a new generation of female workers and leaders in the industry.”