Sean Ticknor is many things: an structural engineer, a founder of a nonprofit organization, a construction manager, a changemaker, a teacher, and much more.
It’s rare that Ticknor doesn’t show up to class in Carhartt, whether it’s overalls or jeans with suspenders, paired with his beige hat and glasses. He always greets his students enthusiastically upon entering and exiting class, and teaches without pressure.
It was 1999 when Ticknor earned his bachelors in civil engineering at Vanderbilt University. For many years after graduation, he worked as a self-employed structural designer.
He earned a certificate of nonprofit management from San Francisco State, took public speaking classes with Toastmasters Organization, and took nonprofit classes with the Center for Volunteer Nonprofit Leadership.
In 2016, he started his own program, Big Skills Tiny Homes, which has since merged with Rebuilding Together East Bay Network, a nonprofit organization. “It was always about building homes for education,” Ticknor said.
Big Skills teaches construction, while also creating affordable housing for unhoused people in the Bay Area. Additionally, it gives direction to those trying to work in the trades.
After getting his teaching credential in 2019, Ticknor built tiny homes with small groups of adult students in a gas station parking lot in Fairfax, California. Then, in 2023, he began teaching students at San Rafael High School.
“I put together a curriculum that was approved by the curriculum board and brought it here,” said Ticknor. “I wanted to do more building and teaching. I enjoy teaching and I saw the need for it.”
Building Construction and Trades is a CTE course designed for students who want to go into the construction industry, as it touches on every trade practice, and even offers jobs in the Rebuilding Together organization.
“In this program, I can get an introduction to all of the trades,” said a 2021-2022 student who was not named in a video posted on the Big Skills Tiny Homes website. “It’s the best because now that I have these skills, I can choose a trade that I want to go with since I have experience with all of them.”
Other than its students, Building Construction and Trades also benefits the learning leaders that help guide the class. They get 900 hours of paid training and guidance in finding their next job.
Ticknor describes it as a pathway. Another unnamed 2021-2022 student from the same video said, “Through Sean, I got an offer at an architecture studio in the area.”
Ticknor recognizes those who struggle financially, and he wants to help them in any way he can. He values providing people with a respectable pay, regardless of how much effort he has to put in.
A big partnership the teaching program has, at least in Marin County, is with Canal Alliance. This organization serves the Canal neighborhood, providing free legal support, English lessons, food pantries, daycare, job finding, and much more.
The goals behind Canal Alliance align well with those of Big Skills and Rebuilding Together. Because of this, many of the learning leaders come from this organization, in hopes of finding a job or an extra source of income. Ticknor explained that people with Canal Alliance receive $12,000 for a single school year of work, which is $2000 more than those not a part of it.
“Some people have to be working and the sacrifice to learn isn’t enough,” Ticknor said. “I keep trying to up [the wages]. All the time, I’m telling the Rebuilding Together people it needs to be higher, for equity.”
Being a part of this program is a fulfilling experience, according to 58-year-old Sandy Young, a student from 2020-2021. “I have found the opportunity to build a house for somebody who lost their home,” she said. “It’s one of the most amazing projects of my life.”
Aside from this course’s third year at San Rafael High School, Branson High School is experiencing its second year and Antioch High School is entering its first.
As of the 2025-2026 school year, Ticknor stepped down from teaching at San Rafael High and now works as the construction manager, similar to his role at other high schools. However, this is not out of a loss in passion. If anything, it is quite the opposite.
“The point of resigning as a high school teacher was to free up my time, to unroll the Big Skills program in other spots,” Ticknor explained. “Wednesdays I go to Branson, Fridays I go to Antioch.”
Aside from these three schools, Ticknor has said that he is trying to bring the course to Cristo Rey De Salle High School in Fruitvale, Oakland.
Ticknor explained that his original mission was to teach people after high school, however high schools are very eager to adopt the class. “High schools are super, super desperate for it, and they’re the ones who are all jumping on board first,” he said.
In addition to bringing this knowledge to high schools, Ticknor also expressed his efforts on starting a center called Berkeley Works, as well as getting into the College of Marin – Indian Valley Campus.
He is teaching construction to people of all ages, while also providing housing to people in his community. “It’s been really, really empowering, especially as a woman,” Young said. “I’m 58-years-old and being able to dive in and build a home has been really an incredible project.”
Teaching the trades to young students is something of great importance. The pressures of going to college and earning a degree is getting increasingly intense. It can be challenging for people who don’t know what they want to do right after graduating high school.
Gren Finn, a student from 2020-2021, expressed that, “It really helped me find a way to utilize my brain for problem solving that I just had not been able to find in school and other jobs.”
Ticknor has brought teaching to all ages, fought for income equity in minority groups, and has helped minimize the housing shortage in the Bay Area. His efforts over the past decade have connected so many people in his community, and he plans on continuing to push for more changemaking.
Zev Eifler, a 2020-2021 student in the program, said, “It’s super honorable work by Sean. You build a house and then you give it to a homeless person. It’s a direct thing you feel good about.”
