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By Tad Vezner

You can’t tell by talking to her now, but there was a time when Tamakia “T. J.” Edwards (ARCE ’08) might not have had the confidence to go for her current job. That’s the one where Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker personally interviewed her, then hired her to lead the Illinois Capital Development Board, the agency tasked with the design and construction of every building owned by the state.

“We’re the ones who replace the boilers and sometimes construct the buildings,” says Eileen Rhodes, the Capital Development Board’s chair, who heavily advocated for Edwards.
“T. J. understands bureaucracy, but she’s kind of the rare bird that will blow up the system if that’s what needs to happen,” Rhodes adds. “There are a lot of things that are urgent—and she understands urgency, where a bureaucracy doesn’t. She’s brought a much higher level of accountability to the CDB, and a much higher level of cooperation among staff.”

For 12 years Edwards worked for the federal government in the same wheelhouse, though at a lower rung. As a contracting officer’s representative, a job similar to a project engineer, for the United States General Services Administration, she worked with private engineering firms to design, construct, and rehabilitate federal buildings.

She analyzed estimates, wrote scopes of work, and monitored work as it took place.

“There was me and one other Black female engineer working out of the �鶹APP office,” Edwards says. “In project management, there weren’t a lot of us.”

But there was something about that responsibility, the weight of expectations, that made her want to surpass it.

“I spent many years learning how to do projects. It taught me to elevate my thinking, the full collaboration, and brought me a lot of confidence,” she says. “Being a woman going into a project—a multimillion-dollar project—and you’re leading these efforts on behalf of the country, having the ability to really influence, to build something out of nothing, it’s a confidence booster.”

Seeing those projects reach completion was incredibly satisfying.

“You see frames, and then after a year, a structure with a roof and facade and carpeting and walls, and you think of all the hands that touched it, it’s so inspiring. It really is life-changing, there’s nothing like it,” Edwards says.

With the General Services Administration, she was promoted into new positions including project engineer, design coordinator, and capital construction program manager for federal buildings in the Great Lakes region. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was offered a significant promotion to serve as the chief of staff at the Capital Development Board. She took it.

“She was an extraordinary help during COVID-19 [as chief of staff], when a lot of essential things had to happen and we had to change the way we did business. She came in at a pivotal time and did extraordinary things,” says Rhodes. Edwards notes that while working for the federal government she grew familiar with how to work virtually, while state workers were not.

While working with the former executive director, Edwards learned that the role was less about managing individual projects and more about delegating. The new position required ongoing communication with the executive team, deputy governor, project teams regarding specific client needs, and other state agencies.

And, of course, troubleshooting.

“You’re troubleshooting everything,” Edwards says. “I’m used to putting on a hard hat and rolling up my sleeves, and now I’m in a completely different position.” 

In 2024 the Office of the Governor reached out to inform her the current director was retiring. Interviewing with Pritzker was “probably one of the scariest experiences,” Edwards says. “I just assumed it would be someone from his team. He knew things about me, knew my resume; he took the time to study up on my work and ask direct questions,
and I was so impressed with that.”

She took the job in May 2024 after taking a second to note to herself, “OK, this is going to be hard work. It did relieve a lot of pressure knowing I spent a lot of time getting to know good people. I have that to fall back on,” she says.

Rhodes notes that when it came time for the board to vote on approving Edwards for the position, “[Capital Development Board] staff came to the board meeting—which they never do. People were clapping, cheering, even crying, it was very sentimental. She can bring out the best in people. She can help them be successful and that’s clear across the board.”

The agency’s current focus is on advancing the Rebuild Illinois program, a comprehensive capital-infrastructure initiative. Edwards notes that her agency is responsible for a substantial investment of $9.6 billion aimed at revitalizing higher education institutions, mental health facilities, state parks, and various state agency buildings. She adds that Illinois faces a considerable backlog of deferred maintenance, with a significant portion of the funding dedicated to implementing environmental enhancements in line with new sustainability standards.

“I wake up and go to work and can’t believe I have this responsibility. When I think of my story of how I got here, [there were] stumbles, but I never saw myself leading an initiative like this, leading people that I must motivate and inspire, having responsibility that’s shocking,” Edwards says. “I’m thankful for it; I’m pretty spiritual, so I’m simply thankful.”