A New Generation Takes the Lead in Correctional Construction
JE Dunn Construction Senior Project Manager Nick Tuggle (right) followed his father and grandfather — both longtime JE Dunn employees — into the construction business. | Photo Credit (all): Courtesy of Nick Tuggle
By Charlie Lange
Like many sectors of the architecture, engineering and construction industries, corrections work is often led by longtime industry veterans, who lean on decades of experience and dozens of completed projects in their roles. But increasingly, projects are being pushed forward by relative industry newcomers, who bring fresh perspectives, technical savvy and novel approaches to their job sites.
Nick Tuggle is a Senior Project Manager with JE Dunn Construction who already has an impressive number of complex correctional facility projects under his belt. From his first job on the Trousdale Correctional Facility in Tennessee to the recently completed Jackson County Detention Center project in Kansas City to his current work building the new South Dakota Men’s Correctional Facility, Tuggle has had a role in completing more than 7,000 correctional beds so far in his career.
In 2025, Tuggle’s industry peers nominated him as a Next-Generation Trailblazer, part of Correctional News’ annual awards program recognizing the work of professionals with 10 years of justice/corrections experience or fewer. Out of that pool of Trailblazer nominees, the Correctional News Editorial Advisory Board and Industry Knowledge Council members selected Tuggle as the Emerging Leader Award winner in the architecture, engineering, construction and vendor category. During the award process, Tuggle was lauded for his proactive, team-first leadership, for advancing facility design and delivery, and for helping enhance prefabrication practices and system coordination through JE Dunn’s Virtual Design and Construction program.
Correctional News recently spoke with Tuggle to learn about his career progression, major projects he’s worked on, progression into leadership roles and advice for other industry newcomers.
CN: Talk about your background, how you got your start in the industry and how you progressed to your current position.
Tuggle: I got my start through the industry through my dad and grandpa. My dad worked for JE Dunn as a General Superintendent for 45 years and just recently retired in April of 2025, and my grandpa worked for JE Dunn for more than 20 years. Originally, I had no intention of making a career out of construction — I had plans to graduate from the University of Missouri and go to law school. During the summer months of college, I worked as a carpenter with JE Dunn, and it must have had more of an impact on me than I thought, because a couple months prior to graduation during my senior year, I switched gears and decided that construction is what I wanted to do. With my construction experience as a carpenter and my dual BA in Political Science and Economics, that was enough to get my foot in the door at JE Dunn.
My first job was in Hartsville, Tenn., working on the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, and that’s where I got my introduction to the correctional industry. When that job completed, I spent a couple of years in JE Dunn’s Healthcare group until I worked on the Lansing Correctional Facility in Lansing, Kan. From there, I went to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Mo., then the Jackson County Detention Center here in my hometown of Kansas City. Now, I’m currently working on the South Dakota Men’s Correctional Facility in Sioux Falls, S.D.
On every project I was a part of, I had great teammates and very supportive mentors. Without them and the opportunities and trust they gave me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
CN: Speaking of those mentors — how have they affected your career development, and how do you seek to pay it forward and mentor others in the company and industry as a whole as you gain experience and take on leadership roles?
Tuggle: The mentors I’ve had at JE Dunn have been crucial in my success. They took a chance on me, and invested countless hours of time teaching me not only how to build a building, but build relationships — and how key strong relationships can be when you’re finishing a complex or difficult project.
Through that mentorship, and now that I’ve moved into more of a management role, it’s taught me to have a “people first” mentality. Every morning I try to spend the first 30 minutes of my day being intentional on developing the folks that work with me or around me. I strongly believe in being an empathetic leader, meeting individuals where they are and adjusting my management style to the employees I work with.
Understanding how to interact with others to get the most out of them is so important — whether it’s people that work at the same company, trade partners, owners or design team members.
CN: How has JE Dunn’s Virtual Design and Construction program technology been used to enhance operations?
Tuggle: I can’t take any credit for the development of our Virtual Design and Construction program; that goes to a ton of people at JE Dunn over the years. However, with the help of a lot of others, we’ve been able to really dial it in specific to the correctional industry.
Whether it’s a back chase cell module configuration or a front v-chase, we’ve been able to set teams up for success by making this a requirement on all our jobs and identify the pinch points in those tight spaces for an efficient build as well as an easily maintained space. It’s opened up new opportunities to pre-fabricate and “rack” systems so the amount of labor required on-site is reduced.
CN: What have been the proudest or most rewarding moments of your career, and/or standout projects that you’ve been involved with?
Tuggle: There is nothing better than being able to drive past a building with my wife and three kids and reminisce with them on all that it took to finish the job. The next best thing is being able to connect with past co-workers, trade partners, clients or design team members and do the same. There’s a certain type of bond that’s created being a part of a construction team and family.
CN: What are some goals you still hope to accomplish in your career moving forward?
Tuggle: I have some lofty goals for my career. As an example, I hope to one day lead our Justice Group and continue making those lifelong bonds with folks in the industry.
CN: What advice would you give to others getting their start in the corrections/justice construction industry?
Tuggle: The corrections/justice industry is a tight-knit group of folks from all different backgrounds who truly care about the facilities we build and how important they are to our communities.
Jump right in and get to know everyone you can — where they come from, what they worked on, who they worked with. They are some of the best people you’ll ever get to know.