Coconino Community College Featured in National Docuseries on Skilled Trades

Coconino Community College (CCC) is proud to announce that two of its students and three faculty members are featured in Building Back America's Trades, a three-part docuseries produced by the Lowe's Foundation in partnership with Blue Chalk Media.

The series premiered April 11, 2026, on Magnolia Network and is now available to stream on HBO Max and discovery+.

CCC is one of only three institutions featured in the series, alongside Columbus Technical College in Georgia and She Built This City in North Carolina. The docuseries follows 13 individuals connected to innovative skilled trades training programs, spotlighting the personal stories, mentors, and real-world challenges driving the next generation of tradespeople across America. For CCC, that story is rooted in preparing a local workforce for a rural region with limited labor pipelines.

“Rural communities face a very different workforce reality,” said Ken Myers, Director of Construction and Industrial Trades at CCC. “Phoenix can draw from millions of people. We cannot. If we want to meet the demand for skilled trades, we have to grow that workforce here. That means building training programs that let students earn a livable wage, stay close to their families, and build a future in the place they already call home.”

Grace Johnson and Aaron Hall are the two CCC students featured in the production. Johnson, the daughter of a contractor, is pursuing a career as a site superintendent and is passionate about making the construction industry more accessible for women.

Hall, an attorney, husband, and father of two, is also featured in the series. Hall made the decision in his 40s to pursue a career as an electrician. He enrolled in CCC's electrical certificate program while managing his legal practice, became the first student to complete and receive an electrical certificate from CCC, and graduated in 2025. He is currently working part time as an apprentice electrician and plans to transition to full-time electrical work in May 2026, with the goal of earning his journeyman electrician's status.

Also featured is Ken Myers, Director of Construction and Industrial Trades at CCC. Myers is a Flagstaff native with more than 15 years as a CCC instructor and decades of prior industry experience. He is joined in the docuseries by construction industry veteran Vance Peterson and Tiffany Thomas, both of whom teach in CCC's Construction Technology and Management program.

The series also captures the college's longstanding partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona, through which CCC Construction Technology and Management students design and build modular housing panels on campus. These are transported to affordable housing developments across Flagstaff, putting trades training directly to work in the community.

“There is steady, real work in this region across the skilled trades, but training has to exist here for people to take those jobs. When education and opportunity are rooted locally, students can stay close to family, earn a livable wage, and build long-term careers in the same community where they want to raise their kids. That is how rural areas grow their workforce instead of losing it,” Myers said.

The docuseries highlights a critical need within the construction industry. According to Associated Builders and Contractors, the industry needs 349,000 net new workers in 2026 alone, and a large majority of contractors report difficulty in finding qualified workers. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that labor shortages result in approximately $10 billion in annual losses to the housing industry.

CCC's inclusion in the docuseries reflects a relationship with the Lowe's Foundation that began in 2023, when the college was selected as one of 10 institutions nationwide to receive a Gable Grant. The $750,000 award enabled CCC to expand its skilled trades programs in construction, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and solar, while funding facility renovations, additional lab space, upgraded equipment, and new instructors.

For more information about the series, visit https://www.lowesfoundation.org/buildingback. To learn more about CCC's skilled trades programs, visit: https://coconino.edu/paths/construction-trades