This week in March features two tributes to women: International Women’s Day and Women in Construction Week. At Cannon Building, we have a number of women who have worked with us for many years and are critical to our overall success.

Across various business units—whether in the contracts office, as project engineers in the field, or in accounting and operations—these women make a difference in the quality of service, delivery, and client-relationships that make Cannon Building competitive in key markets. Here are a few of their stories and unique contributions.

Laying the Groundwork

Long before ground breaks on a new project, there are people working to land that deal, communicate that win, and forecast/manage costs. Cannon Building has women in each of those roles, ensuring a smooth process from start to finish.

Contracts Team: Angela Foster & Tina Obah

Angela Foster is a contract administrator for Cannon Building. She has a B.S. in business administration from California State Dominguez Hills and an A.A. in general business from Cerritos Junior College. She also holds numerous certifications and association memberships.

For the past 15 years at Cannon, Angela has worn a variety of hats and gained experience across various areas within the company. She has worked in accounts payable/receivable and weekly payroll and has supported the RFI process. She has helped to create and implement maintenance spreadsheets and reports for a $2 million project, keeping track of employees’ time, wages, and source codes. She now manages all processes related to MPSA, MSA, PAA, PO, and pre-qualification.

Tina Obah is a contract analyst for Cannon Building. She has a master’s in international commercial law and dispute resolution from Pepperdine University; a barrister-at-law degree from the Nigerian Law School; and a J.D. from Lagos State University. She is a member of the New York Bar Association and the Nigeria Bar Association. She also has taken several courses with Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) including Contracts 101 and Subcontractor Prequalification.

BD & Marketing: Dori Paliobagis & Maryanne Vargas

Dori Paliobagis is a business development lead. She holds a B.S. in business and marketing from Loyola Marymount University and is a member of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers and Society for Marketing Professional Services. Dori has been working in business development for Cannon Building since 2014, collaborating with the sales, marketing and estimating teams to drive business growth forward.

Maryanne Vargas is marketing and communications administrator for Cannon Building, working in a variety of capacities to push messaging across channels and ultimately tell Cannon Building’s story. She has a B.S. in human biology from University of California San Diego and a background in web development/design. She has been with the company since 2018. She maintains the website, does redesign elements for new sections, and leads all marketing/communications in collaboration with other departments.

Delivering in the Field: Sarah Sayahpour & Vivian Truong

 Sara Sayahpour is a project engineer. She has her master’s in interior architecture from California Polytechnic Pomona/University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a construction management certificate from UCLA Extension and recently completed her LEED certification. She also is OSHA-10 certified. Sara has been with Cannon Building since 2020 and has been project engineer on major job sites such as Gilead Formulation Suite and Scripps Health Cath Lab.

Vivian Truong is a senior project engineer, with a B.S. in business management from California State University, Fresno. She also earned a certificate in Construction Technology from Orange Coast College. Vivian is LEED-certified as well as OSHA-30 and is a construction manager in training. Prior to joining Cannon Building as senior project engineer, she worked as an associate project manager at CBRE-SCE, managing capital maintenance and capital construction projects for Southern California Edison. The main projects she has worked on have been the Scripps Research Gnotobiotics Laboratory and MBB Electrical Upgrades.

Delivering on Quality

These are just a few examples of women at work at Cannon Building. Whatever their expertise, they are critical to the successful day-to-day operations and client satisfaction rates across all projects.

We are grateful for their talents and look forward to growing our team in 2022 with a staff that delivers quality work to our clients, every single day.