The St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers recognized Dan Lester, director of contractor relations and personnel recruitment at Concrete Strategies on March 6 at their 46th Anniversary Best Practices and Diversity/Inclusion Awards Gala for his work recruiting immigrants and mentoring at-risk kids.

“[Lester] is a fierce advocate for minorities,” said Carol Daniel of KMOX Radi. “He has leveraged his experience as a diversity and inclusion educator with his talent as a professional speaker to work with management and field personnel in construction. He came to the construction industry from DeSmet Jesuit High School where he served as the first African American faculty member and administrator. At DeSmet, he trained faculty, staff, students and the DeSmet community on factors of diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural awareness. He has leveraged that experience to create viable and realistic solutions to educate the construction workforce on diversity and cultural competence.”

Joining Concrete Strategies in 2015, Lester’s efforts have supported the company’s effort to increase their employment minority percentage from 11% up to 17%. Lester recently presented “Education, Community Programming, and Diversity Suggest Viable Solutions for an Aging Workforce” at the 2016 International Tilt-Up Convention and Expo in Denver, Colorado.