The Electrical Contractors’ Association of City of Chicago and Cook County (ECA) has elected Kendra Dinkins as its new president, making her the first female — and first Black — president in the organization’s history.
Dinkins, who serves as president and CEO of Taylor Electric Company, a fourth-generation, family-owned Chicago electrical contractor founded in 1922, assumed the role after three years as ECA vice president.
Dinkins’ election marks a landmark moment for the electrical construction industry in Chicago and Cook County, where the ECA has represented union electrical contractors for over a century. She is the first woman and the first person of color to serve as the organization’s president.
Dinkins’ path to the presidency spans over a decade of dedicated service to the ECA and the broader electrical construction industry. She joined the ECA board ten years ago and has chaired the Research and Education Committee, contributed to the development of the Chicago Electrical Code, and been an active participant in Women in NECA and other national initiatives.
She served three years as vice president before assuming the presidency, working closely with outgoing President Bob Fimbianti of Linear Electric, who now serves as ECA governor.
Taylor Electric Company, which Dinkins leads alongside co-owners representing the company’s third and fourth generations, was founded by her great-grandfather in 1922 and has remained 100% family-owned and operated throughout its history. The company performs commercial,
healthcare and educational electrical construction work across the Chicago metropolitan area and is a longtime member of the ECA and signatory contractor with IBEW Local 134.
As president, Dinkins has identified workforce diversity and small contractor advocacy as top priorities. She has called for expanded recruitment outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), deeper engagement with underrepresented communities and stronger support for small and minority-owned electrical contractors navigating the association’s programs and policies. Her three-year term is expected to run through 2029, after which she will transition to the ECA governor role, representing Chicago and Cook County contractors nationally through the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).
