MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Updated: 4 days ago
Ms. Joy Svoboda
ACCE Lifetime Member | Practitioner Trustee | Industry Advocate | Mentor
Joy Svoboda — Connecting Industry, Education and the Next Generation of Construction Leaders
For Joy Svoboda, involvement with the American Council for Construction Education has always been about more than accreditation. It is about people…bringing construction industry professionals and educators together, creating opportunities for students, developing future leaders, and strengthening the connection between what happens in the classroom and what happens in the construction industry.
That commitment has made Joy a familiar and influential presence within ACCE for nearly two decades.
Today, Joy is an ACCE Lifetime Member and Practitioner Trustee on the ACCE Board of Trustees, but her service spans numerous roles and initiatives. From accreditation visits and marketing and communications to industry engagement and mentorship, Joy has consistently brought an industry perspective to ACCE's mission of advancing quality construction education.
A Longstanding Commitment to ACCE
Joy became actively involved with ACCE in 2007, initially serving on the Marketing & Communications Committee and as a member of ACCE accreditation Visiting Teams. She subsequently chaired the Marketing & Communications Committee from 2019 to 2023 and served on ACCE's Executive Committee during that same period. Joy currently serves on the Accreditation Committee and the Industry Partnership Committee. She has also served as Industry Caucus Chair and, since 2023, as a Practitioner Trustee on the ACCE Board of Trustees.
Her involvement as an accreditation Visiting Team member has taken her to construction education programs around the country, including the University of Cincinnati, University of Wisconsin–Stout, Cal Poly, Dunwoody College of Technology, Central Connecticut State University, and most recently Kennesaw State University
That experience gives Joy a particularly valuable perspective. She understands both the construction industry's expectations and the challenges colleges and universities face as they prepare students to enter an increasingly sophisticated profession.
ACCE further recognized her commitment when she became an ACCE Lifetime Member in 2025.
Bringing the Industry Voice to Construction Education
One of Joy's continuing priorities has been strengthening the relationship between construction education and the industry it serves.
That philosophy closely aligns with the work of ACCE's Industry Partnership Committee, which expands engagement with construction companies, associations, organizations, and individual practitioners while bringing industry perspectives into ACCE leadership.
For Joy, industry participation in construction education matters because employers bring something a classroom can't fully replicate: current, real-world experience.
Construction professionals understand changing technologies, workforce expectations, project delivery methods, leadership challenges, communication requirements, and the skills young professionals need to successfully transition from college into their careers.
Joy has seen the value of this connection firsthand. She served for more than six years on the Industry Advisory Board at Dunwoody College of Technology, collaborating with construction professionals, faculty, and students to help guide programs in Construction Supervision and Construction Leadership & Management.
That experience reinforces a theme that runs throughout Joy's ACCE involvement: construction education is strongest when educators and industry professionals work together.
Continuing Susan Labas' Legacy Through Mentorship
Perhaps no current ACCE initiative better reflects Joy's passion for developing future construction leaders than the Susan Labas Future Leaders Mentoring Program.
The program honors longtime ACCE leader and industry advocate Susan Labas, CPSM, whose career was defined by leadership, generosity, mentorship, and a commitment to creating opportunities for others.
Joy is helping carry that legacy forward.
The Susan Labas Future Leaders Mentoring Program connects undergraduate sophomores and juniors from ACCE-accredited Construction Management programs with accomplished industry professionals. The program emphasizes opportunities for women preparing for leadership roles in architecture, engineering, and construction.
Its goals extend well beyond traditional career advice. Through one-on-one relationships with experienced industry professionals, students can build confidence, develop leadership skills, better understand career opportunities, and gain insights that might otherwise take years of professional experience to acquire.
The program also strengthens another connection important to Joy: the relationship among students, academic programs, Industry Advisory Boards, and the professionals who ultimately employ construction graduates.
Joy currently serves as an ACCE contact for industry professionals, program directors, and career development professionals interested in participating in the mentoring initiative.
The Value of Having Someone Believe in You
Joy's interest in mentoring is not simply organizational. It has been a recurring theme throughout her own professional life.
Her volunteer work includes more than a decade of speaking to high school students through BestPrep, where she has shared insights on career planning, personal branding, and leadership.
Perhaps even more telling are the comments of professionals who have worked with Joy during their own careers. Former colleagues have described how she recognized potential in younger professionals, gave them meaningful responsibility, challenged them creatively, and gave them room to learn and grow.
That approach captures what meaningful mentorship can accomplish.
A mentor does not need to have every answer. Sometimes the greatest contribution an experienced professional can make is simply recognizing potential in another person, sharing lessons learned through experience, opening a door, or providing encouragement at an important point in someone's career.
A Career Built Around Communication and Relationships
Professionally, Joy has built a career around B2B marketing, strategic communications, brand development, market research, content strategy, business consulting, and leadership.
Joy has significant experience in the construction and building products industries. In 1993, as an Assistant Safety Field Manager for a MN-based excavating company, BELAIR, she was HAZMAT certified for contaminated soil and demolition sites.
She also served as Marketing Manager for Fabcon, a major producer of precast concrete building systems. There, Joy led initiatives to better connect architects, developers, building owners, and other construction professionals with technical information, project resources, and new digital tools.
Today, she brings that mix of marketing expertise, industry knowledge, strategic thinking, and relationship-building to her work as an executive consultant.
Her leadership has extended beyond the construction industry. Joy has served as President of the Montgomery, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Montgomery City Council, on economic development and parks initiatives, and with organizations supporting entrepreneurship and community development.
Throughout those varied roles, a common thread emerges: bringing people together and helping organizations and individuals recognize opportunities for growth.
"My involvement in ACCE has enriched my career by expanding my knowledge through academic and industry collaboration. That is our core purpose. Perhaps the most cherished byproduct of this work is forming lifelong friendships. The combination of this incredibly rewarding volunteer work and these relationships makes ACCE a place that feels uniquely welcoming." – Joy
Building More Than Careers
The construction industry frequently talks about building the future. Joy Svoboda has spent much of her career putting that idea into practice—not only through buildings and businesses, but through people.
Her service to ACCE, participation in accreditation, work with Industry Advisory Boards, leadership within the Industry Caucus, and current involvement with the Susan Labas Future Leaders Mentoring Program all reflect a belief that experienced professionals have something important to pass along.
Knowledge gained over an entire career has tremendous value when it is shared.
For students preparing to enter construction, access to someone who has already navigated a professional career can be transformational. For industry professionals, mentoring offers an opportunity to give something back while helping develop the talent that will lead construction companies and the profession in the decades ahead.
And for ACCE, leaders like Joy Svoboda help strengthen the bridge between those two worlds.
Joy is also committed to and currently working on the issue of mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry, including an upcoming publication of a white paper expected in late winter 2027
Her career and service remind us that one of the most important things we can build is the next generation of construction leaders.
Joy lives in a rural area in southern Minnesota and enjoys 21 acres of wooded surroundings that keep her and her partner Kurt busy year-round. Together, they enjoy entertaining, cooking, traveling, spoiling their Labrador Retrievers, spending time at their cabin in Northern Wisconsin, and spending time with family.
Soon they will add identical twin boys to the two grandsons they already have. Not surprisingly, Joy's stepdaughter has chosen a career in construction, too!
Joy is a collector of antique Czech china and pottery; 18th- and 19th-century copper pieces; 286 pieces of milk glass; Cowboy boots; 300 pieces of artisan-thrown pottery - mostly from a fellow college student; 100s of books she has read at 5 am in her highly guarded quiet time; and has collected over time tattoos that have significant personal meaning.
We enjoy spotlighting ACCE members, including their industry accomplishments and contributions to ACCE and our accredited programs.
Stay tuned for more! Steve Nellis.
CEO/President, American Council for Construction
