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What truly differentiates J.S. Held is our people — world-class talent driven by a common set of core values. Together, these shared values inspire a culture of integrity, excellence, teamwork, and service.
Katie Moore joined J.S. Held in 2019. She is based out of Seattle, Washington, and is a Senior Project Manager within our Builder’s Risk practice. Katie’s role primarily involves reviewing cost and schedule impacts for property and infrastructure that has experienced damage during the course of construction. She is primarily involved in projects located in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, and Arizona.
Above all else, Katie is known to be friendly, caring, optimistic (“glass half full”), positive, and determined. “Positivity and determination are especially useful in this job,” she says. “Sometimes, for instance, my team has to work with less information than would be ideal, and being able to push forward despite the gaps is invaluable. Similarly, when we see things going ‘wrong’ on a job site, it’s helpful to be able to find ways to focus on turning a situation around.”
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“Katie’s skills and experience from her prior construction work history have made it an easy transition for her to get fully and easily integrated into our projects. However, Katie’s greatest contribution to J.S. Held and the Builder’s Risk team is her amazing attitude. She’s always willing to volunteer and help on projects, and does so with an incredibly positive outlook and demeanor. The combination of her skills and attitude make her an incredible asset to the company and a lot of fun to work with.”
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Katie received her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management from California State University Long Beach in 2010. “I didn’t have any family in the builder’s risk field growing up, but there were a lot of engineers in the family,” she explains. “Originally, my plan was to go to school to become a nurse, but I had a talent for math that pulled me back toward construction. I was interested in pursuing a career in which I could do custom home building, but my professional relationships steered me toward builder’s risk.”
After college and prior to her time at J.S. Held, Katie worked for a large commercial contractor as a Senior Project Manager. “I worked on a hospital replacement in Ventura, California and on the Washington State Convention Center Addition project in Seattle during that time,” she recalls. “The role provided a great chance to learn the fundamentals and helped me develop my organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills. As many in the construction industry know, there are complex issues that arise. I was challenged to come up with creative solutions for complicated problems.”
Moore further explains, “It was in the same former role that I had the pleasure of meeting and working for Katie Twomey, who is now a Senior Managing Director for J.S. Held’s Builder’s Risk practice. I knew that I had wanted to make a shift out of operations at some point during my career. I honestly did not know a position such as my current one existed, and when I heard there was an opportunity with J.S. Held, I immediately took interest. Here, I am able to utilize skills that I learned while working for a contractor in a different setting and I love it!”
Katie’s subject matter expertise lies within construction management and cost management. “Builder’s risk is a lot of puzzle solving and trying to find out how the ‘final picture’ should look. This holds true no matter how unique the project,” said Katie.
Typical projects, she says, are commercially built, but there are plenty of outliers. “I can recall one involving a wind farm, in fact. We tend to get quite a lot of construction defect, or default, projects. This is where I get to see a lot of interesting things, such as how a building façade is put together, or determining whether wind-driven rain is causing moisture issues. Those are a lot of fun to work on.”
It’s also not uncommon for projects to come with a powerful “human” component and a chance to be a part of something special. Katie describes an experience working on a hospital wing restoration case: “It was memorable because it was so unique. We were working day-in, day-out among an existing facility with patients and hospital staff on an expansion project. At the end of the day, when the project was concluded, it really sank in that we were helping a lot of people in addition to the client.”
Another aspect of her role that she enjoys is the opportunity to collaborate with other experts within the firm. “Due to the nature of builder’s risk claims, I work closely with our forensic accountants, forensic engineers, and MEP consultants,” she says.
When she isn’t at work, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband, Nicholas, and their Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Frankie. “I enjoy hiking and camping in the summer months in the beautiful Pacific Northwest,” she says. “I also enjoy taking group fitness classes (Peloton as of recent), reading, and being with my family/friends during my spare time. In addition, I am looking forward to traveling again post-pandemic.”
Are you interested in learning more about Katie Moore? Send her an email at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.