Kansas City Welcomes Bridgette Williams As The 1st Black Woman To Run the Heavy Constructors Association

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The Heavy Constructors Association of Greater Kansas City (HCA) is under the new leadership of Bridgette Williams, the first Black woman ever to hold the local construction organization group title, KSHB 41 reported.

As one of the most powerful and influential groups in the metro Kansas City, Missouri, area, Williams has been working with the organization for eight years, seeing major construction projects come to light, such as the new airport terminal at Kansas City International Airport and the Panasonic plant in De Soto, Kansas. Proud of her work, Williams said race or gender has nothing to do with her new leadership role but more her tenacity. “I feel like what I bring to the table is just a real-life grounded perspective. I got to this position because I work hard and I fought for it,” she said.

“It’s interesting because I don’t view me as a person in a position of power. To me, I’m just Bridgette trying to, you know, maneuver through the day.”

Williams comes from a background of blue-collar advocacy, working for nearly 20 years with the Greater Kansas City chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO.) She started her journey at the local AFL-CIO affiliate by taking a chance. “I answered an ad in the newspaper for a part-time receptionist at the AFL-CIO,” she said. “Trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I got out of college,” after starting her journey as a receptionist.

She went on to become the first Black female president at just 27 years old and held that role for 15 years.

In early 2024, Kansas City was looked at for its booming potential as a construction hotspot, according to The Kansas City Business Journal. While some doubted if the region’s workforce was equipped to support such growth, Williams addressed how construction has been one of the industries that saw growth, given roles don’t require a college degree. “Young people are not being exposed to construction-related fields to see whether they would be interested in going into this as a career. Construction is one of the few industries left in which you don’t have to have a college degree,” she said.

“In some areas, you don’t even have to have a high school diploma. The training is primarily done through apprenticeship programs from the union side.”

Like advancing on the construction side, Williams said she is determined to exemplify what Black women’s leadership can look like in underrepresented industries. During Black History Month, she said Black people can create history every day if they reflect on some of the sacrifices made by their ancestors.

“To just remember that where we came from is as important as focusing on where you’re going so that you can be a part of this country, not making the same mistakes again,” Williams said.

My primary goal is always to leave things better than they were when I came.”