E.B. Sonheim
Director of Marketing | Feyen Zylstra
For E.B. Sonheim, success in construction has never been about chasing projects, it has always been about investing in people.
Over the past 13 years at Feyen Zylstra, E.B. has helped shape the company’s growth through marketing, relationship development, workforce engagement, and leadership initiatives. Whether she is strengthening partnerships with general contractors, mentoring young professionals, supporting apprentices, or serving her community, her focus remains the same: creating opportunities for people to succeed.
That people-first approach has made E.B. a respected leader within Feyen Zylstra, ABC Western Michigan, and the broader construction industry.
Building Systems That Drive Results
When E.B. joined Feyen Zylstra fresh out of college, she was the company’s first dedicated marketing professional. At a time when many subcontractors viewed marketing primarily as proposal support, Feyen Zylstra saw an opportunity to tell its story differently—and E.B. helped lead that effort.
Over the years, she built a marketing team, expanded the company’s communication strategies, and helped elevate how both Feyen Zylstra and the construction industry present themselves to employees, customers, and future talent.
More recently, her responsibilities expanded into relationship development, an area that perfectly aligns with her belief that long-term success is built on trust.
One of E.B.’s most impactful initiatives was creating Feyen Zylstra’s General Contractor Relationship Development Program. The program established clear expectations, accountability, and intentional plans for developing relationships with key construction partners across multiple regions.
“We don’t have traditional salespeople,” E.B. explained. “Our project managers, estimators, and preconstruction teams are our salespeople. The question became: How do we help them identify the right partners and build trust over time?”
The answer was a structured system that empowered teams throughout the organization to focus on relationships rather than transactions.
“Relationships don’t happen overnight,” she said. “When relationships come first, results follow.”
The impact has been significant. From 2022 to 2025, Feyen Zylstra experienced significant growth while strengthening relationships with general contractors across its markets. While E.B. is quick to credit the collective efforts of the organization, her leadership helped create the framework that made those relationships more intentional, consistent, and sustainable.
For E.B., the goal was never simply winning more work—it was creating partnerships that allow projects, companies, and people to thrive together.
Leading Through Listening
While business growth is an important part of E.B.’s story, one of her favorite leadership experiences started with a simple question:
How are our people really doing?
Several years ago, Feyen Zylstra’s leadership team sensed there might be opportunities to improve field employees’ experience in West Michigan. E.B. was asked to help uncover what those opportunities might be. Over the course of several weeks, she visited jobsites throughout the region and interviewed approximately 20 percent of the branch’s field workforce, including apprentices, electricians, and foremen.
“I wasn’t trying to validate assumptions,” E.B. said. “I was trying to understand what their day-to-day experience was actually like.”
The conversations revealed a common frustration. Apprentices wanted more visibility into their development and greater opportunities to expand their skills. At the same time, field leaders often lacked a clear understanding of each apprentice’s experience and capabilities when they arrived on a jobsite.
Rather than simply collecting feedback, E.B. worked with operational leaders to turn those insights into action. The result was the modernization and reintroduction of Feyen Zylstra’s “Blue Book” program—a structured system that tracks apprentice development, outlines key competencies, and creates accountability for both apprentices and supervisors.
The program provided greater clarity, stronger communication, and more intentional development opportunities throughout the organization. For E.B., the project reinforced an important leadership principle.
“Strong leadership requires turning insight into action.”
It also demonstrated something that has become central to her leadership style: some of the best solutions begin by slowing down, listening carefully, and giving people a voice.
Changing the Story of Construction
Throughout her career, E.B. has been passionate about helping people see construction differently.
She believes construction should be viewed as a professional, respected, and future-focused industry—one that offers meaningful opportunities for people with a wide variety of talents and interests.
“I want construction to be a first-choice career,” she said. But E.B. believes the conversation extends beyond students.
Over the years, she has become increasingly focused on helping parents understand the opportunities available within the construction industry. While students may be excited about hands-on work, parents are often evaluating long-term career growth, stability, and future opportunities.
“We have to give parents confidence that their son or daughter is heading toward a career where they can be successful and self-sustaining.”
That belief has fueled her involvement in workforce development efforts across West Michigan. From helping organize Career Quest experiences to coordinating student tours at Feyen Zylstra, supporting workforce initiatives through the West Michigan Construction Institute, and sharing stories that showcase the people behind the work, E.B. has spent much of her career helping others discover opportunities within the industry.
She is particularly encouraged by the growing number of women entering the skilled trades.
“I ask every woman who joins our field teams how she found construction,” she said. “Many of them point to seeing someone like themselves already working in the industry. That matters.”
For E.B., every story shared, every student reached, and every future craft professional inspired helps strengthen the future of construction.
Building Community Inside and Outside the Industry
Few organizations have played a larger role in E.B.’s professional journey than ABC Western Michigan.
She began volunteering with ABC shortly after entering the industry and quickly discovered something that would shape her career for years to come: community.
When she first started at Feyen Zylstra, E.B. was the only marketing professional in the company. The ABC marketing peer group provided a network of people who understood the unique challenges she faced and were willing to share ideas, resources, and encouragement.
“ABC made the industry feel smaller, more accessible, and more collaborative,” she said.
Over the years, E.B. has served on the Excellence in Construction Committee, helped launch the ABC Young Professionals initiative, participated in leadership development programs, and remained actively involved in countless ABC events and volunteer opportunities.
Her commitment to service extends well beyond construction.
E.B. currently serves as Chair of the David D. Hunting YMCA Board and as a member of the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids Association Board. She is also a board member for Rising Kites, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals with Down syndrome and their families, and has mentored students through Calvin University’s Women in Business Network since 2019.
One of her favorite moments this past year came when Rising Kites was selected as the beneficiary of ABC Western Michigan’s Charity Clay Shoot.
“To bring together a cause I care deeply about and an industry community that means so much to me was incredibly special,” she said.
Growing as a Leader
Ask E.B. about leadership, and she will tell you she learned some of her most important lessons early in her career. She laughs now when she shares the story, but shortly after joining Feyen Zylstra, a supervisor gave her feedback that changed her leadership trajectory. E.B. was driven, ambitious, and eager to move quickly. While her results were strong, her pace sometimes left others struggling to keep up.
The message was simple: slow down and bring people with you. That conversation became a turning point.
“I thought intensity was what organizations wanted,” E.B. said. “But I learned that people have to want to participate in what you’re building.”
Today, her leadership style reflects that lesson. She balances accountability with empathy, decisiveness with collaboration, and urgency with patience. Her advice to emerging leaders is one she continues to practice herself: Take time to understand the system before trying to change it.
“If you want to go far,” she said, “you have to go together.”
Looking Ahead
Whether she is strengthening partnerships, supporting apprentices, mentoring future leaders, advocating for workforce development, or serving her community, E.B.’s work is rooted in a belief that lasting success is built through people.
Her contributions have helped shape Feyen Zylstra’s growth, strengthen ABC Western Michigan, elevate workforce development efforts, and create opportunities for the next generation of construction professionals.
As a finalist for ABC Western Michigan’s Young Professional of the Year Award, E.B. exemplifies the leadership, vision, and commitment to people that continue to move the construction industry forward.
