Nichole Carter: From stage to jobsite - Procore’s Builders Club Advocate of the Quarter

Big Bill Shakespeare once wrote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” What’s this got to do with construction? Ask Nichole Carter—Procore’s Builders Club Advocate of the Quarter.

“We had a ‘New Plays’ series,” Nichole says, explaining an early-career project challenge. Today Nichole is Implementation & Adoption Manager at Big-D Construction, out of Salt Lake City. Her first construction gig, though, was in the spotlight. Sort of. “We did world premieres all the time, and this play was called ‘Plainsong,’” she explains. “We had six tracking panels, but these panels were 40 by 50 feet—huge sliding units. And they couldn't flex. It was a pain in the butt!”

As Carpenter/Welder for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts—one of the country’s most storied theater companies—Nichole was immersed in structural problem-solving; the kind whose public-facing outcomes are bathed in the glare of footlights and seen by thousands of attentive theater patrons. No pressure.

“It was absolutely beautiful,” she says of the movable “Plainsong” sets. “You would have one scene where it would be a projection of rolling hills, and then the next scene, the panel would track in and have a lifelike image of downtown Manhattan. It really took you places, and without a whole lot of traditional set structure. It was…illuminating!”

When the recession hit, DCPA felt the pinch. “We went from 14 shows a year down to 7 over the span of my first 3 seasons there. I had to get a side job that paid something so I could continue to do my passion.” Passion—yes. Theater folk are known to have the stuff in abundance. Nichole approached her search for a gig with a certain…theatricality?

“I showed up at a jobsite where they were setting steel for a large GC, and I started commenting on how archaic their processes were,” Nichole says matter-of-factly. To the interviewer’s stare, she shrugs emphatically. “Hey, I didn't know I was complaining directly to the owner of the company! But he was like, ‘If you think you can do it better, you can come and work for me.’ And that's how it started. Yeah.” It’s just possible this was her new boss’ introduction to introverted theater folk. “They called me Tasmanian Devil,” Nichole says with an innocent expression.

Nichole Carter does have a flair for finding her people. Take Big-D Construction for instance; an outfit whose founder, Dee Livingood (the original “Big Dee”) funded his dream startup in 1967—by selling his beloved blue Volkswagen. That spirit of unstoppable adventure and excellence infuses the company today––and stamps Big-D’s sought-after mountain resorts and residences across the U.S. From theater stage to jobsite to Procore Builders Club Advocate, Nichole knows her way around the idea of family.

“I think construction is a relationship industry. The ability to connect—especially right now—has been incredibly helpful.”

Nichole is Procore's Builders Club Advocate of the Quarter. “Advocate of the Quarter” is an honorific given every quarter to a Procore customer whose energized, genuine advocacy of Procore goes above and beyond—someone whose Procore enthusiasm and expertise also make them a resource and mentor to other members. Thanks for all you do, Nichole!

To learn more about shaping the future of construction as a Procore Advocate, visit Builders Club and have a look around. These are your people. https://www.procore.com/buildersclub