Tasharah Benjamin takes a measurement as Tatiana Williams watches during construction training at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Construction trainees work in an apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
A construction trainee sands a wall inside one of the apartments being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Shemika Green and retired plumber Eddie Jackson chat in an apartment undergoing renovation at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Trainee Jason Iles installs a washing machine outlet box in an apartment undergoing renovation at at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Electrical wires in an exposed wall at an apartment under renovation at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Trainee Sanaa Green grabs tools off a table in an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Construction supplies lie on the floor of an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Instructor Andrey Sotnikov and trainee Sanaa Green renovate an apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Trainee Hershey Cherry sands a wall in an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
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Tasharah Benjamin takes a measurement as Tatiana Williams watches during construction training at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Tasharah Benjamin studied the exposed wood studs and positioned a square steel electrical outlet box.
Benjamin, 43, was surrounded by a half-dozen other trainees in a vacant apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, where they were remodeling the kitchen.
“Where’s our line here?” said Barbara Cox, a veteran union electrician and instructor. “Let’s use our measuring instruments to see what close means.”
“It’s still not in the middle,” said Benjamin, who quickly pulled out a tape measure, pad and pen, and did some math. She adjusted the placement.
“All right,” said Cox, approvingly. “You know what to do now, carry on.”
Benjamin was one of 21 trainees in a 12-week program run by Tradeswomen Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps workers embark on construction careers.
Golden Gate Village, the county’s largest public housing project and the only one designed for families, will begin massive top-to-bottom renovations next year.
“I live in the community,” said Juanita Douglas, executive director of Tradeswomen. “Once we realized this revitalization program was coming, I thought the local community should be allowed to work on it.”
Douglas applied and received a grant from Burbank Housing, the Marin Housing Authority redevelopment partner, to offer the pre-apprenticeship training her organization pioneered in 1979. Her team surveyed Marin City residents and received a strong response, including from an unusually high percentage of women.
In rapid succession, they held public meetings, scheduled interviews, screened applicants and selected a class of 25 — including Marin City residents like Benjamin. They lined up instructors and supplies for three days a week of hands-on construction training and numerous presentations from union officials and others on the other days.
The topics included workplace safety, math and other technical refreshers, building codes, sexual harassment, financial literacy and career development.
In early November, the program began. Trainees chose one of three tracks — electrical, plumbing or carpentry — that are gateways into 28 union trades.
“It is literally a pre-apprenticeship training program, preparing them to go into construction trades,” said Douglas, who was a commercial carpenter and land surveyor. “We direct them, work with them and help them and show them exactly how to enter the construction trades. That’s what we do every day.”
“It’s amazing,” said Benjamin, who is 43 and on the electrician track. “I’m learning new skills. I’m super excited about it, and I can’t believe how easy it’s sticking to me.”
“I always had a passion for it, to become an electrician, but I never thought about actually going into the trade,” she said during a break. “I love math and if you’re good with math, you can be good at this. And Barb is the best teacher I’ve had in a long time.”
Standing next to her was Kimberly Robinson, who is 42 and who enrolled in the program along with three of her sons — ages 23, 21 and 20 — and a nephew.
“I’m a single mother of six, and we’re talking about having opportunity in this community, something we can do, something hands-on that we can take from here,” she said. “I’m hoping to get more work. I’m also hoping for my boys to be put to work redoing these units for the revitalization.”
In a nearby three-bedroom apartment, Sanaa Green, 19, and Hershey Cherry, 60, were in the corner of its gutted downstairs following floor plans.
They were starting to frame and build a wall around a 4-inch sewage pipe with Audrey Sotnikov, a carpentry track instructor who was also serving as the site’s foreman and general contractor. Their laser lights blocked off the base of where they were about to put up studs and drywall.
“I went from stilettos to steel toes,” said Cherry, who previously worked in corporate offices and is rebuilding her life after enduring a brain aneurysm.
“This is so different for me, but I’m loving it,” she said. “And how I got into it was I was at dinner — just a conversation with my neighbor, who started this program and said, are you in?”
Green, whose mother, Shemika Green, is the site’s project manager for Tradeswomen Inc., is a former Santa Rosa Junior College theater major who focused on building sets and sound design.
“I’m learning a lot about wood placement, how to use tools safely, a lot of new stuff,” she said. “I’m learning a lot about tools, cutting and drilling — especially about safety and stuff with the blades.”
Douglas, who said she typically places more than three-fourths of trainees in jobs or union apprenticeship tracks, said the most important qualities being taught are punctuality, discipline, following instructions and learning what is taught with confidence.
“They need to be able to follow all we’re teaching them,” she said. “And then they can work in any of the 28 union trades.”
Green also said the program has taught her technical skills and “a lot about myself.”
“I’m not a very patient person, but it’s definitely taught me a little bit of self-discipline and to slow down when I’m moving too fast,” she said. “It’s also taught me how to keep myself calm when there’s frustration.”
Cherry praised Sotnikov, their instructor, who has worked in construction in San Francisco since 2010.
“He’s the best. He takes his time and breaks it down,” she said. “That’s why I stay with his crew.”
Douglas said being middle-aged — like some of the older trainees — was not a barrier to construction work.
“There’s construction jobs out there that don’t require as much physical activity, and your body adapts, depending on how you take care of it,” she said.
The training concludes in late January, Shemika Green said. She said there have been many inquiries about offering the program again in the new year.
In early January, eight independent contractors seeking to hire crews will come to Marin City for a mixer to meet trainees, she said. Burbank Housing’s contractor covering the Golden Gate Village renovations is also interested in hiring, she said.
“This is something I did in Oakland for six years, but this community has never ever had opportunities like this,” Douglas said. “It’s unbelievable how well it’s blossomed.”