Robin MacLennan
California Construction News Editor
Deborah Wilder’s path into construction began outside the industry, working with the timber sector in the Pacific Northwest.
But when she later moved into a role with a San Francisco firm serving construction contractors exclusively, she found an industry that immediately appealed to her.
“I found that I loved working with contractors,” she said.
No two projects were alike. The challenges could change depending on the funding, location, regulations and type of work involved, and Wilder enjoyed helping clients navigate those issues and move their projects forward.
That early experience would ultimately shape a career spanning more than four decades in construction labour and employment law.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Wilder earned a degree in political science and public service from the University of California, Davis, before earning her law degree from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She became licensed to practise law in both Oregon and California and developed a specialty in labour and employment issues affecting the construction industry.
Over the years, she worked with contractors and public agencies on some of the industry’s most complicated compliance issues, including prevailing wage requirements, certified payrolls, apprenticeship obligations and labour standards attached to publicly funded construction projects.
That experience eventually led Wilder to build a company of her own.
In 2002, major changes to California’s prevailing wage enforcement rules created new compliance challenges for public agencies, developers and contractors. Wilder saw an opportunity to help the industry understand and comply with increasingly complex requirements.
She founded Contractor Compliance and Monitoring Inc., or CCMI, creating a company focused on helping public agencies and contractors administer and comply with state and federal prevailing wage and labour requirements.
“The company just took off,” she said. “I founded and continue to run a successful national company and provided good-paying jobs for my employees.”
Today, CCMI works on publicly funded construction projects and provides labour compliance services involving everything from certified payroll monitoring and wage determinations to apprenticeship requirements and enforcement issues. The company describes its work as combining legal expertise with practical knowledge of construction and government requirements.
The company has grown well beyond its California roots. Wilder said it now works with clients in more than 20 states, a milestone she counts among the accomplishments she is most proud of during her career.
Her expertise has also made her a frequent speaker and educator on prevailing wage issues. Wilder has spoken before government agencies, trade associations and professional organizations, and continues to lead training programs on changing labour compliance requirements.
In 2025 and 2026, for example, she was listed as a presenter for programs examining California prevailing wage law, federal funding requirements, contractor registration, apprenticeship obligations and enforcement issues facing public agencies and contractors.
Wilder has also shared her knowledge through writing. She is the author of What Every Contractor Should Know About Prevailing Wages and has contributed to industry manuals dealing with Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage compliance.
But building a successful company and establishing herself as an authority in a highly specialized area of construction law did not mean the path was always easy.
Wilder has built her career in an industry where women have historically had to fight to be heard and recognized. Early in her career, she encountered assumptions that many women in construction still know well.
“I have certainly had men assume I was a secretary or dismiss my comments as insignificant because I was the only woman in the room,” she said.
But Wilder never accepted the idea that she did not belong.
“I always believed I deserved a place at the table and continued to prove my worth each and every day.”
She said the industry has changed significantly over the past four decades, with more women entering construction and taking on leadership roles. However, she believes barriers and assumptions have not disappeared, particularly for women who own companies or hold senior decision-making positions.
“It’s not quite as challenging today as it was 40 years ago, but there are still assumptions and barriers to women working in construction and being in an ownership role.”
For Wilder, one of the most important ways to address those barriers is to ensure that women-owned and small construction businesses have genuine opportunities to compete.
For women and small construction companies looking to grow, she believes opportunity is the key.
“An opportunity to bid,” she said. “Having procurement goals, not quotas, is critical to get our capabilities and experience and pricing in front of prime contractors and owners.”
Her career has also been shaped by her long involvement with Women Construction Owners & Executives USA, an organization that has provided professional opportunities as well as lasting personal relationships.
Wilder has been involved with WCOE for nearly four decades and served as the organization’s national president from 2007 to 2009. During that time, the organization represented women business owners and executives across the construction industry and advocated for greater opportunities for women in the sector.
She describes her involvement with the organization as one of the highlights of her career.
“WCOE is a fabulous organization that has brought me lifelong friends, business opportunities, mentorship relationships, opportunities and more,” she said.
Wilder has also used her experience beyond her company and professional associations. She served on the Foster City Council for eight years and spent two years as mayor, reflecting a long-standing interest in public service and community involvement.
For Wilder, however, professional success has never been solely about individual accomplishment.
Along the way, she said, other women provided inspiration, encouragement and support when she faced challenges or considered the next step in her career.
“I am successful not just because of my hard work and determination, but because other women inspired me to keep going or reach for that next project.”
Now, Wilder is being recognized by California Construction News as one of the Top Women in Construction in 2026, an honour she says represents far more than a single moment in her career.
“This is a huge honour,” she said. “It serves to validate all the hard work, late-night hours and challenges faced in the industry.”
Her advice to young women considering a future in construction is straightforward.
“Go for it.”
Wilder encourages women entering the industry to seek education and experience wherever they can find it, but she also stresses the importance of building relationships with people who understand the challenges they may face.
“Create your own network of successful women who have your back, that you can call when you hit those rough spots,” she said.
It is advice shaped by a career that has taken her from working with contractors in the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco Bay Area to founding and leading a national compliance company, becoming a recognized authority in prevailing wage law and serving as a national leader for women in construction.
After more than four decades in and around the construction industry, Wilder’s career stands as an example of what can happen when expertise is matched with persistence and a willingness to pursue an opportunity.
And while the industry has changed considerably since she first entered it, her experience has reinforced one lesson that remains central to her career: women belong at the table — and they should not have to wait for someone else to offer them a seat.
