Ep 102: Careers in the Trades Aren’t Gender-Specific with Andrea Harris

This week’s episode is number two in a series of four highlighting blue-collar careers and careers in the trades. Last week we heard from Steve Turner of Bring Back the Trades. If you missed that episode, be sure to check it out. This week, I am delighted to welcome Andrea Harris to the podcast. Andrea is the CEE, Chief Empowerment Executive, at a non-profit organization called Tools and Tiaras, where she and her co-founder Judaline Cassidy, mentor and teach young people about the trades. Having spent over 20 years as a cement mason in New York City, Andrea has a wealth of experience and wisdom for young people interested in careers in the trades. During our conversation, Andrea talks about her unexpected path into the trades, how to get young people started in the trades and why she draws a diamond and a heart on each of her tools. You won’t want to miss Andrea’s advice about getting a debt-free education in the trades and her biggest lesson in life.

About Andrea Harris

Andrea Harris was born on the small island of Antigua and immigrated to the United States at a very young age. Being raised in a trades family, her mother a laborer, and her father a carpenter, Andrea decided to enter the trades after some prompting from her mother and went on to become a cement mason. After 20 plus years in the trades, Andrea and her friend and fellow tradeswoman Judaline Cassidy, started Tools & Tiaras, a nonprofit organization through which they mentor and teach young people about the trades. As Chief Empowerment Executive (CEE), in 2019 Andrea was chosen to be the real cement mason in a Dove beauty bar commercial. Additionally, Andrea became a supporter of the National Kidney Foundation after donating a kidney to her mother in 2005. Andrea is a mother to a handsome 13-year-old son, a sister, and a forever fashionista.