Black History Month: Pursuing Growth & Leaving a Legacy

The Influential Early Years 

Growing up, Javelle Redmond considered both Racine, Wisconsin and Lansing, Michigan home. He and his brother spent most of their time in Wisconsin with their father while making frequent trips to Michigan to stay with their mother. Javelle was very active in sports, particularly basketball, and had a deep admiration for the unwavering drive that defined athletes like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. 

Javelle’s father, James Redmond, worked at a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) factory throughout his adult life, working hard daily to provide for his family before retiring after 40 years. Javelle’s mother, Deborah Keys-Write, is the Founder & National Board Governance Consultant of a school board member consulting business. When reflecting on the values he learned growing up, Javelle credited both of his parents for instilling the importance of hard work and consistency. 

“A family value that I still institute in my day-to-day life is hard work and combining my drive with my ability to execute and persevere — no matter the situation,” Javelle said. “This guides my approach to leadership and collaboration even today.”  

Javelle also feels consistency is an important foundation for both authenticity and collaboration. 

“How you do one thing is how you do everything,” he said. 

He grew up believing that how you show up in one area of your life should be reflected across all others. If you demonstrate you are trustworthy and respectful in one setting, then that’s how you should show up in every space you occupy. For leaders like Javelle, this level of consistency not only reinforces a genuine and authentic sense of self, but also promotes stronger collaboration, smoother workflows and greater clarity — areas of critical importance at McCarthy. 

Defining His Career Path 

"My personal environment has the ability to shape my future,” Javelle said. “The people around me help fuel my ambition and drive to get to whatever the next step is for me.” 

At a young age, Javelle reflected on what kind of environment would support his goals and ambitions. While he would always carry the values of hard work instilled in him by his parents, he also wanted to build a life for himself that constantly challenged him to grow – particularly in an area he was passionate about. Growing up, Javelle wanted to be an architect. He spent much of his time sketching in notebooks, often drawing houses and buildings. What began as a free-spirited hobby would eventually spark a professional interest. After high school, Javelle enrolled at Tennessee State University to pursue a degree in architectural engineering. While he was initially interested in the design aspect, he was soon drawn to the construction field. 

“A year into school,” Javelle said, “I realized the design route was not something I necessarily wanted to go down because I knew I wanted to see the practical side of things — not just things on paper. I wanted to know how things were built. After my first construction internship, I realized that’s what I wanted to do.” 

In his fourth year of school, a classmate who had recently interned with McCarthy encouraged Javelle to explore an internship opportunity with the company. He met RJ Morris and Shannon Lightfoot at the McCarthy booth and as Javelle put it, they won him over hook, line and sinker. 

Joining the McCarthy Team 

In 2008, Javelle joined McCarthy full-time in St. Louis. His early experience on active jobsites helped him develop a strong foundation in construction operations, allowing him to benefit from exceptional management, exposure to ground-up work and the opportunity to learn from experienced industry professionals. 

His first project was the Edward Jones South Campus, a large-scale development that included an office building, parking garage and roadway improvements. 

“I was part of the parking deck and exterior site work and worked directly with the superintendent,” he said. “It was my first opportunity to assist with running work. Being able to see how we interact on the jobsite and how crucial self-perform groups are to our success gave me a good foundation on how to successfully run a project.” 

When that project concluded in 2009, the U.S. economy was struggling and construction projects were limited. When presented with an opportunity to support the Oak Ridge National Lab project team in Knoxville, Tennessee, he agreed, initially expecting the assignment to last only a month. However, McCarthy was awarded an additional project through Oak Ridge, and given Javelle’s strong performance and collaboration with the team, he was asked to stay longer. What began as a short-term assignment ultimately turned into a four-year tenure in Tennessee. 

In that time, Javelle received instrumental support from fellow McCarthy partners, Paul DeCarlo and Daniel Joseph, who identified opportunities that would fuel his career growth and development. More broadly, the leadership and project teams reinforced his motivation to work hard by fostering a culture that truly embodied our core values. 

Finding a Home in Atlanta 

While on the Oak Ridge project, Javelle frequently traveled between Knoxville and St. Louis, where he had established a life outside of work. While he deeply valued his colleagues and regarded them as family, he also longed for a stronger sense of community beyond the jobsite. 

“I was in a pivotal point in my life, and I was doing a lot of traveling back and forth to St. Louis,” he said. “When the job was over, I kind of had no idea where I was going to be next, but I wanted to be somewhere where I felt like I could personally thrive.”  

In 2013, Javelle reached out to leadership and inquired about opportunities to relocate to Dallas, Houston or Atlanta. One soon emerged to support Atlanta’s Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building project following the completion of Oak Ridge. 

While living in Atlanta and working on renovating Grady Hospital, Javelle met his wife, Shaquita, who worked in the radiology department. After two years of dating, they took a trip to Houston to visit the zoo because of her love for animals.  

After checking into their hotel, the couple entered their room to find a beautiful display of balloons and decorations. Having already gotten permission from Shaquita’s family, Javelle dropped down on one knee and proposed. 

“My wife is not one for attention, so I knew the proposal didn’t need to be extravagant - which I was thankful for because it didn't require a slew of planning,” Javelle said. “We kept both the proposal and our wedding very simple, which really fit who we are as a couple.”  

Javelle and Shaquita have two children, 5-year-old Jalen and 2-year-old Jace. The family lives in Atlanta and enjoy taking trips every year so their family and Javelle's brother’s family can come together to create bonding time for the young cousins. Javelle and Jalen also enjoy taking Muay Thai classes together. His youngest isn’t quite old enough yet but does love to wrestle, so he’s likely to join the fun in the future! 

Building Healthy Norms at Work 

Because project team members spend so much time on the jobsite, fostering psychological safety and a sense of community at work is essential. Javelle is currently working on the Rockdale County (Georgia) Judicial and Administrative Complex and one aspect of the project he especially values is the team lunch every day. These daily lunches create space for open conversation about work or personal matters, allowing team members to connect on a more personal level. 

“Our team has a blend of different personalities, and we do something simple to create connections — we eat lunch daily,” he said. “It gets people relaxed, talking about things outside of work and fosters ideas for the site like doing a ‘white elephant’ exchange for the holidays or setting up a fantasy football league.” 

As a leader, Javelle believes in being consistently available to his team while supporting a culture of accountability. By intentionally slowing down and prioritizing relationship-building, he helps create an environment where team members feel comfortable holding each other accountable, also realizing that feedback is coming from a place of good intentions. 

A Legacy of Opportunity 

“What people are truly owed is access to opportunity – and what they choose to do with that opportunity is up to them,” Javelle said. “If you show that you have the hunger and drive for something, nothing can stop you.” 

As a team leader, this belief manifests in how Javelle helps his team identify growth opportunities and better understand how those experiences can help advance their career goals. As a jobsite leader, it means being present and engaged when small businesses – many of which are minority-owned – visit the site to learn more about McCarthy and future opportunities.  

Beyond the jobsite, Javelle also speaks to students in elementary, middle and high school youth programs that his mother is involved with. He believes it’s important for them to hear from someone who looks like them and can offer the encouragement they need to envision their own professional ambitions.   

Exactly Where He’s Meant to Be 

When asked if he could imagine himself in another profession in a different world, Javelle paused before answering with a definitive “no.”   

“I wouldn’t change the industry or even the company I am in,” he said. “In my management role, I don’t worry about wearing a suit, putting on an appearance, or feeling cooped up in an office behind a computer all day. I get to be on my feet and focus on getting stuff done on the safety, quality, schedule, and budgeting side. Plus, I enjoy connecting with people who are really boots on the ground.” 

From choosing architectural engineering to making the move to Atlanta, every pivot he’s made has brought Javelle to where he is today. He genuinely enjoys his work, values the people he works with, loves the positive impact he gets to make and has no desire to be anywhere else. That explains his 17-year career at McCarthy! 

Today, Javelle brings that same sense of purpose to McCarthy's recruitment efforts. Energized by helping potential recruits determine whether construction is the right career path, he is now the one connecting with prospective talent at Tennessee State career fairs. Much like RJ and Ian once did for him during his college years, Javelle is helping to create pathways for the next generation of the McCarthy workforce.