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Jen Netherwood

Carpenter

Multnomah County

Jen Netherwood鈥檚 experience as a professional carpenter for the past decade is a departure from her background.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of my second career,鈥� she said.

Netherwood earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sculpture from the University of California, Berkeley, where she also played varsity soccer. After graduation, she went on to become an assistant coach with collegiate soccer teams in Arizona and California.

Eventually, Netherwood shifted her career focus. She went through an apprenticeship program with Carpenters Local No. 1503 and went to work for Neil Kelly as a high-end residential remodeler. She recognized the lack of women in the trades and sought to change that.

鈥淟ess than 3 percent of professional carpenters are women,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is a good career for women, but it just isn鈥檛 thought of like that.鈥�

Netherwood was hired as an instructor for a pre-apprenticeship program in a women鈥檚 correctional facility, teaching women what they needed to know to enter the trade and get on track for a career providing a living wage following their release. The program lost funding, but Netherwood was committed to working to help these women. She approached the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and now is collaborating with a local community college and other organizations to develop a pre-apprenticeship program for women in prison that will be self-reliant.

Netherwood also is enthusiastic about speaking to middle school and high school students, emphasizing that girls can work in the construction trades just as well as boys, inspiring young people to look outside of the stereotypes and follow their interests when considering their future.

Netherwood is the first woman hired for the Multnomah County carpenter鈥檚 shop, where she primarily works on maintenance and restoration of public buildings. Additionally, she has been a contract instructor for Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., teaching state-certified pre-apprenticeship programs in the Trades and Apprenticeship Career class as well as the Multnomah County Building Girls work crew and summer camp.

Her advocacy and professionalism have not gone unnoticed. Several Oregon legislators had Netherwood speak before the Senate Workforce Committee about the importance of funding opportunities that help women learn about and enter nontraditional jobs such as construction.

鈥淚 see the industry changing and opportunities for women should be part of that,鈥� she said. 鈥淕etting funding to continue the programs is important. The payback is far more than the cost. I love what I do and that I can make a difference.鈥�