Julissa Garcia Receives 2025 International Code Council Trailblazer Award

Presented at this year’s ICC Leadership Week + Hearings, the annual Trailblazer Award honors an outstanding mentor in the building safety industry who guides and inspires others in their code-related careers.  

Julissa Garcia’s creative and entrepreneurial expertise as a Certified Interior Designer (CID) extends well beyond commercial spaces. In addition to being a CID, Garcia is also the owner of j.design.studio and past president of ICC’s San Diego Area Chapter. Her exemplary initiatives to recruit and mentor the next generation of building safety professionals and those seeking career changes have earned the ICC 2025 Trailblazer Award.  

“Receiving the ICC Trailblazer Award is deeply meaningful and humbling,” said Garcia. “I see it not as a personal achievement alone, but as recognition of the collective effort of mentors, colleagues, volunteers and community partners who believe in investing in people.”    

Inspiring Mentors: Paying it Forward  

Garcia’s leadership style that encourages, engages and trains the next generation of building professionals is inspired by gratitude and responsibility.   

“I’ve benefited tremendously from mentors who took the time to teach, challenge and advocate for me early in my career, and I feel a strong obligation to pay that forward,” said Garcia. “Building safety is a profession rooted in service—protecting people, communities and the built environment—and that mission resonates deeply with me.” 

Garcia said she is especially motivated to help younger professionals realize the field offers meaningful, long-term careers where technical expertise, ethics and public service intersect.  

“By providing access, exposure and encouragement early on, we can empower the next generation to step confidently into leadership roles and shape the future of our industry,” she said.  

Garcia’s efforts to promote building safety careers include regular presentations to architecture and design students at local colleges and hiring interns at her firm.  

Next Acts for Veterans: Military Career Changers 

As a city of over 230,000 military veterans, Garcia has helped San Diego’s unique veteran population transition to building safety careers.  

“Military veterans bring a unique combination of discipline, accountability, adaptability and respect for structure—all of which translate extremely well to building safety roles,” said Garcia. “They are trained to follow procedures, make sound decisions under pressure and understand the importance of protecting lives and infrastructure. Additionally, many veterans are mission driven and service oriented, which aligns perfectly with the purpose of building safety. With the right training and mentorship, they often excel quickly and become strong, trusted professionals within their organization.”  

Garcia’s nationally recognized efforts to help promote ICC’s Military Families Career Path Program (MFCPP) include an online radio interview on Living Better in San Diego, a program that aired on multiple Southern California Audacy stations. The program partners with Vets2PM to help inform veterans of the growing opportunities for successful and fulfilling building safety careers. 

“Julissa has done an incredible job in outreaching with the military to act as a liaison in providing knowledge of building code type jobs and how to get on the correct path of getting licenses for plan review or inspections,” said Erich Kuchar, M.S., P.E., Associate Structural Engineer for the City of San Diego and ICC San Diego Area Chapter board member.  

In just one example, Garcia spearheaded a sponsor, 4Leaf Inc., to present Breanna Bingen, a 10-year U.S. Army veteran and an Operations and Project Manager at Resicom Building and Restoration in Escondido, California, with a $1,000 scholarship to continue her education in the building code field. 

“Julissa’s passion for the military runs both professionally and personally, and that double-tier attack allowed her to really focus on what needed to be said in a relatable manner,” said Kuchar. “With her years of knowledge and expertise she was the perfect person to try and bridge that gap from the professional side to the recruitment side.” 

Why it Matters: The Critical Skilled Workforce Gap  

Recruiting and mentoring outside typical channels, including reaching career changers, also helps offset the increasing skilled workforce shortage. 

“We are at a critical moment,” explained Garcia. “Many experienced building safety professionals are nearing retirement, while fewer young people are aware of or entering the field. If we don’t act now, the workforce gap will continue to widen, impacting public safety, development timelines and community resilience.” 

“There is a gap in making people aware that these types of jobs exist and helping show people the translatable skills from previous jobs to building life safety jobs is something she does very well and clear,” Kuchar added. 

Garcia stressed how recruitment efforts go beyond filling jobs, furthering the knowledge base.  

“By proactively recruiting and mentoring students, young professionals and military veterans we’re not just filling positions—we’re ensuring continuity of knowledge, strengthening institutional expertise and safeguarding the future of the profession,” she said. “Outreach is no longer optional, it’s essential.” 

Kuchar reiterated the industry’s pressing demand. 

“Building life safety jobs, from inspectors to engineers, are in such high demand now more than ever and unfortunately, there is a massive career gap in the current workforce of newcomers and retirees with a much smaller transition force from lower to upper management,” he said. 

“Outreach like what Julissa has done will help solidify the next wave of professionals coming into this important sector and help ensure there is an even flow of professionals up the knowledge and advancement career ladder,” said Kuchar.   

In addition to serving as 2023-2024 president of ICC’s San Diego Area Chapter, Garcia’s leadership roles also include ICC San Diego Chapter Accessibility Chair, ICC San Diego Chapter Education Committee Chair and a California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) board member. 

View all 2025 ICC award recipients here.          

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