Marcela Alcantar

President and Founder of Alcantar & Associates, Marcela Alcantar, an indigenous Huachichilt, was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She values and honors her heritage and contends the term indigenous needs to be expanded to include other racial groups, including Mesoamericans.

Marcela’s journey from Mexico began with dance. Her father worked in the mines, and her mother, at 14 years old, left Mexico to pick corn in the United States soon after Marcela was born. Raised by her grandmother, her aunts, and her uncles, she was labeled a troubled child and designated to face a similar outcome as her mother. But dance would become Marcela’s saving grace for a brighter future. At 17, she left her hometown in Mexico and joined a dance company in Colorado.

Marcela paid her way through college and earned a degree in civil engineering, working three times harder because of the language barrier. A hard worker, Marcela sometimes worked three jobs while raising her daughter, Marcy, who now operates the business. In 1999, Marcela established Alcantar & Associates, a high-quality civil design, construction, and project management firm. Marcela says, “It is important to focus on your goal, focus on the people you surround yourself with, and focus on who is going to get you there.” She comments further by sharing that “After my spiritual experience, I now understand that some things [challenges] were meant to happen. That is part of life and try your best to learn from life and be thankful.”

When she launched her business in 1999, the first contract she received was the construction of the Interstate MAX Yellow light rail line in North Portland. Later, Alcantar became a general contractor focusing on heavy transportation and commercial projects, including the Tilikum Bridge and Sunset Highway construction. Recent projects have focused on concrete, civil design support services, and single-family construction and improvements.

In 2015, Alcantar formed the Diversified Builders and Engineers Council, a nonprofit group that bolsters minority contractors and engineers in Oregon. In 2018, Alcantar received the the Daily Journal of Commerce Women of Vision Award. In 2018, she received the Diversity Leadership Award from the Women’s Transportation Seminar Portland Chapter.

Believing in advancing her knowledge and expertise, Marcela has participated and graduated from the Turner School of Construction, The SBA 8(a) Business Development Program, and the Prime Contractor Development program. In 2020, she graduated from the Port of Portland Mentor-Protégé Program to further her knowledge and skillset as a specialty concrete contractor. The Mentor-Protégé Program is a nationally recognized small business development program operating continuously since 1995. The program prepares small businesses to do business with government agencies. It helps them to overcome barriers within the government agencies. It helps them overcome barriers within government contracting and procurement processes.

Marcela is committed to preparing the next generation of women in the construction industry, including her daughter Marcy who now helps operate Alcantar and Associates. Faye Burch, another honoree and longstanding advocate for small businesses, describes Marcela as a woman with a big heart, full of humility and love for her family, community, and the world around her.