Build Without Barriers

TradesforAll.org
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Build Without Barriers is the official podcast of TradesforAll.org, created to inform, inspire and elevate the voices shaping the future of the skilled trades. Designed for contractors, apprentices, educators, workforce leaders and advocates of open opportunity, the show highlights the real stories and real solutions driving progress in construction.

Episodes

  1. Sep 25

    Rewriting the Next Chapter: How the Trades Changed Elvis Claiborne’s Life

    In this episode of Build Without Barriers, presented by Trades for All, Kris Georgeson sits down with electrician, instructor, contractor, and ABC SoCal alumnus Elvis Byron Claiborne for a powerful conversation about second chances and the opportunities available through the skilled trades. After experiencing incarceration, Elvis knew he needed to rebuild his life and create a future he could be proud of. What initially drew him to the electrical trade was the opportunity to earn a paycheck—but what he found was much more: a career where his skills, work ethic, and willingness to show up mattered more than his past. Over the course of two decades, Elvis progressed from apprentice to journeyman, foreman, instructor, mentor, and business owner. He shares how ABC SoCal, influential mentors, and years in the field helped him develop the discipline, confidence, and leadership skills that transformed both his career and his life. Today, Elvis is using his experience to help the next generation succeed—teaching apprentices, supporting the ABC SoCal Alumni Committee, creating opportunities through his own business, and encouraging contractors to look beyond someone’s history and recognize their potential. His message to anyone who believes their past has closed the door on their future is simple: your past is a chapter, not the whole book. You still have the opportunity to write what comes next. Listen to Elvis’s story of determination, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and why he believes the skilled trades can provide a genuine path forward for people ready to put in the work.

    Rewriting the Next Chapter: How the Trades Changed Elvis Claiborne’s Life

  2. Jun 19

    Building People, Not Just Projects: Brett Wright on Leadership and Opening Doors in the Trades

    What does it really take to build an industry where everyone has a place? In this episode of Build Without Barriers, host Kris Georgeson sits down with Brett Wright, Director of Brett Wright Electric, ABC Southern California board member, and Chair of the Trades For All Committee, for an honest conversation about leadership, opportunity, and changing the culture of construction from the inside out. Brett shares how a single ride in a neighbor's pickup truck at age 15 turned into a 34-year career as an electrician, and how the trades have shifted from a "toughen up or get out" mentality to the supportive, welcoming crews he believes the industry's future depends on. He and Kris dig into the barriers that keep people out of the trades, what eight years in the classroom taught him about reaching every kind of learner, and how programs like the Delta Tours and the ERiCA Grant are opening doors for women, veterans, returning citizens, and neurodivergent workers across California. Brett also gets candid about hiring his company's first woman electrician, why he waited longer than he should have, and what convinced him there's a role in the trades for everyone. Whether you're exploring a career, guiding someone who is, or working to make your own jobsite more inclusive, this conversation is a reminder that the future of construction isn't just about building projects. It's about building people. Learn more and explore career pathways at TradesForAll.org.

    Building People, Not Just Projects: Brett Wright on Leadership and Opening Doors in the Trades

  3. May 14

    Aaron Viveros on Second Chances, Mentorship, and the Electrician's Path

    Aaron Viveros walked up to a construction trailer outside San Antonio Hospital with nothing — his grandfather dying in the ICU upstairs, his family counting on him, and a willingness to work. The conversation he had at that trailer launched a twenty-year career. Today, he's the 2024 ABC Southern California Teacher of the Year, a master trainer, a licensed contractor, and the kind of mentor whose former apprentices still text him on Saturdays from the parking lot of the testing center after they pass their state exams. In this episode of Build Without Barriers, host Chris sits down with Aaron for a conversation he rarely has out loud. Aaron talks about overcoming addiction and homelessness, the "iron sharpens iron" mentors who shaped him, why he calls the National Electrical Code "our secret language," and the daily habits — showing up early, staying late, doing what needs to be done rather than what you want to do — that turn first-year apprentices into master electricians. He also opens up about the wall in his classroom covered in state certification slips, the squirrel-and-acorn lesson he gives every apprentice about California's seasonal construction work, and his core message for anyone facing a crossroads: don't be afraid to fail, because the door you don't open is the one you'll never walk through. Whether you're considering the trades, mid-apprenticeship, or starting over after a hard chapter, Aaron's story will meet you where you are. Listen now, and visit TradesForAll.org to explore California's four core trade pathways — Electrical, Plumbing, Low Voltage, and Sheet Metal HVAC.

    Aaron Viveros on Second Chances, Mentorship, and the Electrician's Path

  4. Apr 10

    From Sobriety to 4,000 Lights: A Journey of Grit, Growth and Opportunity in the Electrical Trades

    In this powerful episode of Build Without Barriers, Kris Georgeson sits down with Carol Orozco, Human Resources Generalist at SunWest Electric, ABC instructor and electrical committee member, to share her remarkable journey into the trades. Carol began her electrical career at age 36 after getting sober and searching for a new direction in life. Nearly a decade later, she has led teams installing 4,000 lights on a major project, transitioned from the field into HR leadership, and now trains the next generation of electricians in the classroom. She opens up about the realities of entering construction later in life, navigating job site challenges as a woman, and the resilience it takes to keep showing up every day. Carol also shares how safety, mentorship and culture are shaping a new generation of apprentices, and how SunWest Electric has grown from just a few women in the field to significantly expanding female representation in recent years. From handing out business cards at gas stations to inspiring students to see the bigger picture of a career that can change their lives in four years, Carol’s passion for the trades is contagious. This episode is a testament to second chances, steady persistence and the life-changing power of opportunity in construction.

  • 4 Episodes

About

Build Without Barriers is the official podcast of TradesforAll.org, created to inform, inspire and elevate the voices shaping the future of the skilled trades. Designed for contractors, apprentices, educators, workforce leaders and advocates of open opportunity, the show highlights the real stories and real solutions driving progress in construction.

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