An Interview With the Women of Kipcon
In 1987 (a year after Kipcon’s inception), Congress passed Public Law 100-9. Unlike Bill S2760 signed into law in January of 2024, Public Law 100-9 had nothing to do with the world of community associations or reserve studies. After being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, officially declaring March Women’s History Month.
This month, Kipcon honors our women. From the engineering team to inspections, sales and marketing, and the Florida team, these women shape Kipcon in countless ways.
Over the month, I spoke with Director of Inspections, Karen Thomlinson and three female members of the Inspections Team. I also spoke with Senior Project Manager, Melissa Wrubel, PE, and I am honored to share their stories.
How Did We Get Here?
How a Childhood Injury Led to a Career
When I asked the team how they ended up working in the industry, I learned that inspiration struck in different but similar ways. For Karen, it happened when she was ten. “I broke my leg and had to stay home from school. During that time, my parents were having the kitchen renovated. I remember sketching how the crew was framing the wall for a new window, and something about it didn’t look right. When showing the drawing to my dad, he pointed out that they had forgotten to install a header. That moment became my first real introduction to construction.”
Karen Thomlinson, Director of Inspections
Experience Leading to Expertise
Jean, on the other hand, told me that she didn’t always picture herself in this exact field, “but looking back, my path really led me here in a natural way. I’ve worked in a few different areas over the years that all tie into what I do now. I was a property manager for a condominium association, which gave me a lot of hands-on experience. Before that, I worked for many years with a residential insurance inspection company. I spent a lot of time evaluating properties. Those experiences built my knowledge of construction and building systems.”
Jean Riccio, Project Manager
Natural Choices
This idea of a natural choice, an almost obvious decision, became a common theme among the team throughout our interviews. Melissa, like Karen, was also a kid when things began to click into place. “My father could build and fix anything and he was amazing to us. When we were kids, he created a huge, and I mean a huge, sandbox –we spent entire days out there. A lot of my mother’s Tupperware and silverware migrated out there because they were needed for important work. She’s still a little angry about that. But then I had great teachers and mentors, and eventually civil engineering became a natural choice for me. Of course, my day looks a little different now, but I still get to “dig in the dirt” occasionally.”
Melissa Wrubel, PE, Senior Project Manager
A Passion for Planning
Jodi began her career at Kipcon in September 2009 in the accounting department and quickly developed an interest in learning more about reserve studies. “At the time, I was living in an HOA for the first time, and, like many homeowners, I hadn’t given much thought to where my annual contributions were going. It’s something most people don’t think about. With a background in accounting and home insurance inspections, I found myself uniquely positioned to grow in this field. Since that time, reserve studies have become my passion.”
Jodi Smallwood, EBP, RS, Project Manager
Lost Shoes, Crazy Weather, & Other Onsite Highs & Lows
During our interviews, I wanted to know about each woman’s experiences. What were the highs and lows of the job for them? What made the difference between the good and bad days?
This February, I got a chance to visit a site with Naomi. Of course, we encountered one of Naomi’s lows that day… “Weather!” We were both bundled and surrounded by snow. “It seems minor, but this past winter season has given me a new appreciation for good weather conditions during inspections!”
Naomi Joyandeh, RS, Project Manager
Karen shared a similar sentiment, “Over the course of my career, I’ve faced more than a few memorable challenges on construction sites—from navigating demanding field conditions where I’ve fallen through ice, to getting stuck in mud so deep I lost a shoe, and even dealing with equipment failures caused by extreme heat.”
However, when the weather is cooperating and board members are assisting in coordinating site visits, the job highs are pretty high. Especially for Karen. “One of my favorite projects is a high‑rise property where I oversee inspections involving building‑envelope and site related issues. I enjoy performing inspections at these sites from the scaffold, and as a bonus, you get an incredible view of New York City. Plus, it’s one of the few places on a job where no one bothers you, allowing you to focus completely on the inspection.”
Another rewarding job experience, a little closer to the ground, for Naomi has been her work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “I’m currently working on the New Jersey Make-A-Wish Foundation’s castle and knowing that my work will hopefully benefit the children and families they service is amazing.”
Women in a “Man’s Industry”
Our industry and the world of engineering is still a field predominately dominated by men. Karen told me, “I’ve encountered challenges related to gender in the field. I’ve had the police called on me simply for being on a job site, and I’ve been referred to as a “little girl” while trying to do my work. There’s also the ever‑present, “Why would you want to do this type of work?” comment. These moments can be frustrating, but they’ve also strengthened my determination and reinforced why representation in this industry matters.”
When I spoke with Naomi, she also told me that, “It happens on occasion that a community or Board member has doubted or underestimated my knowledge or skills based on my gender or age. Usually, by the end of our conversation or interaction though, their demeanor will change and they tend to realize my skills and knowledge have been earned and I hope they learn something from it. It’s an unfortunate part of working in a historically male dominated field, but I know it’s changing for the better.”
The Kipcon Team is an advocate for every little girl who finds herself sketching specifications the contractor might want to reference or playing in the dirt trying to evaluate why that sidewalk cracked.
Man or woman, as Melissa pointed out, “No matter who you are, doing something for the right reasons, doing it well, and enjoying what you do is what matters.”
Loving What You Do
Everyone on the Kipcon team (we’ll include the men here too) follow Melissa’s lead. We love what we do, we do our best to do it well, and we do it for the right reasons.
Jodi told me, “At the ripe age of—let’s just say “fifty-ish”—I truly feel that I have found my place in the workplace. I genuinely love helping communities find balance and long-term stability. I work hard to remind communities that proper funding and timely replacement of components are essential to maintaining property values. I also take great pride in working closely with boards and property managers. Helping communities protect their investments and plan responsibly for the future is what motivates me every day.”
Kipcon cares. “The projects that leave the biggest impact on me are the projects that I get to see real life progress on. I’ve now been here long enough to see clients from Reserve Studies that I previously prepared, and I get to do their next Reserve Study. It’s a great feeling to see our work being applied, to see familiar communities coming back, and to observe what’s changed and grown since the last Reserve Study.” The relationship between Kipcon and our clients is one of our highest priorities. Not only are we here to help, we want to.
Why Choose Kipcon? Direct Quotes from the Women Who Know Best
Karen: “I’ve worked for Kipcon for 8 years. Kipcon gives you the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects across many different areas of the industry- there are always chances to branch out and gain experience in other disciplines.”
Jean: “I love Kipcon because, out of every company I’ve worked for, this is the first place where I’ve truly felt that leadership genuinely cares about the employees. There’s real respect for everyone, not just for the work we do, but for our wellbeing too. That makes a huge difference.”
Naomi: “I have been in this field and working for Kipcon for a little over 3.5 years. I feel that Kipcon’s attention to detail in our service and our reports really is unmatched. We also have so many services in house, that we can use each other’s different backgrounds to get the best job done.”
Melissa: “I’ve been in the civil engineering field since 1987. I’ve worked for two firms during my career including my 16 years at Kipcon. Kipcon is family.”
Kipcon is family. (Words worth repeating, don’t you think?)
Connect with Kipcon…
And Don’t Forget to Honor the Women in Your Life This Month & Every Month
Until we meet again next month, feel free to catch up on some recent Kipcon webinars. March’s session was very valuable on Drainage Deficiency & Remediation presented by Melissa.
And remember, if your community is in need of any engineering services, reach out to us here or call us at (800) 828-4118.