LOS ANGELES — Jaqueline Pruitt is no stranger to getting her hands dirty. The Long Beach native who started a company called Marvella Steel Placers, installing rebar, which are steel bars that are used to reinforce and strengthen concrete.

Several years ago, she was working alone, often the only woman at a job site. These days, she spends more time supervising, sometimes up to 60 workers, and the construction projects are much bigger, like Destination Crenshaw, an art and culture corridor her team is helping build.

“I’m not as in shape as I used to be, but I am using my brain more,” she said with a smile, in a nod to the days spent in the office. “It’s been incredible to be able to be part of people being able to provide for their families.”

Her role as a founder of a growing, successful company is a stark contrast to her past. Pruitt said she has spent time in jail and struggled with homelessness but eventually turned her life around after a friend suggested she learn a well-paying trade — installing rebar. Now her company works on jobs that can range in the millions.

“I need manpower in order to get the job done so the more contracts that I get, the more manpower and people that I can hire,” she said.

She’s worked on the Los Angeles Metro Purple Line and the 15 Freeway but said it wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of the Los Angeles regional Contractor Development and Bonding Program, or CDABP, which helps small and diverse businesses bid for publicly funded contracts. Merriwether and Williams Insurance Services created the program in 1997 in San Francisco and it expanded to Oakland and eventually Southern California. Los Angeles County joined the program in 2021.

Rosa Osorio is a project manager with the CDABP and works with contractors, preparing them to bid for contracts, which includes getting proper insurance, financing and certifications. She said the goal is for them to win contracts and put dollars back into the economy.

“Once they are awarded a contract, it helps them build their capacity as well as create jobs,” she said. “Local businesses tend to hire local workers and then it helps the community grow.”

Osorio said there will be more work coming down the pipeline, especially after President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure investment plan late last year. So far, the program’s services have led to over $300 million worth of contracts awarded to underrepresented companies.

Contractors like Pruitt already see the benefits of working on public projects. She recently moved into an office to fit her growing team, a far cry from working out of a bedroom in a family member’s home. Pruitt said her team has worked on almost two dozen projects and she wants to expand her business to manufacturing rebar.

“This is not easy. There is no school for it. It really is a mentorship deal. That’s how I have gotten as far is through mentorship,” Pruitt said.

Now she’s paying it forward as she hopes to inspire others, especially women, to pursue a career in this industry.