Paul Davis Restoration Honors 20 Women of 2020

When did you start working for Paul Davis?

I started working for Paul Davis Restoration of Portland/Vancouver on July 18, 2019.

What were you doing before that?

I was a Team Trainer for a fast-food restaurant.

How did you get the job—or what interested you in going for it?

At the time, I was looking for a new career path, something with more opportunity than what I had at the time. I saw an ad for Paul Davis and read about what they stood for and their goal of helping people in a time of need. That’s what really stood out to me. I applied and to my surprise, I instantly got a callback. Not too long after, I was a full-blown technician.

What are your duties and what a day of doing each one of those would look like?

As an ESD Technician, part of my job revolves around people’s contents (belongings). In most cases before the demolition on a job can begin, the customer’s contents must be moved either somewhere else in the home, or in most cases, off-site to a POD (moving/storage container) or back to the Paul Davis Restoration warehouse for safe storage. This is one of my duties as an ESD Technician.

Another one of my duties is going in after a house fire has occurred to perform a structure cleaning. This is when you clean the structure of a home (walls, ceilings, baseboards, etc.) from bottom to top of soot. Seeing the customer come home and not see a difference but smell a difference because all the cleaning is such a gratifying feeling. Lastly, one of my favorite duties is demolition (destruction, tearing, cutting, ripping out) of affected areas which can include cutting out walls, floors, ceilings, and ripping out insulation. I love this part of the restoration project because you never know what kind of day it’s going to be! One day you’re going under a house to tear out insulation and another day you’re cutting out a garage ceiling. Being an ESD Technician keeps you on your toes but that’s why I love it.

Family info and how it relates to your job and daily life.

My parents have always been very hardworking people. My mom raised me to believe that I could do anything I put my mind to. She was always in physical labor trades and is a big inspiration for me to never give up or feel I can’t do something which when you’re an ESD Technician sometimes the only thing you can do is persevere.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself taking the lead in training and the development of new technicians.