Locations
W.A. Rose Construction, Inc.
Office Mgr.
Key Contacts
Owners, Principals & Senior Executives
Dan Pitcock's Bio
For Dan Pitcock, the second-generation owner of Roberts Electric, his relationship with W.A. Rose Construction goes back to 1960 when his parents began their business relationship with the company. He bought W.A. Rose to continue that legacy.
Dan graduated from UC Berkeley, is a Certified Green Building Professional and supports a number of East Bay community organizations and programs, including Oakland Technical High School’s Field of Dreams Baseball Program and the Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association; he is also a member of Oakland’s Parks and Recreation Board and is a Certified Green Building Professional.
What Dan’s clients love about him
Dan’s an Oakland guy. He grew up here and it’s here where he’s raised his family. He loves the energy, growth and development that Oakland is experiencing now. He’s been an Oakland business owner for more than 25 years, has survived the economic downturns and understands the power of the relationships that have helped him grow his business. Dan is unfailingly loyal and never forgets that, as contractors, we’ve been invited into people’s homes and businesses to create value, realize visions, and solve problems.
Something you may not know about Dan
Dan rowed crew at Cal, loves baseball and grew up listening to Lon Simmons on a beat-up old transistor radio. Some of his favorite memories include the years he spent coaching his son’s baseball team. A loyal Giants fan, he looks forward every season to his W.A. Rose promotional spot on Marty Lurie’s weekend program on KNBR.
Estimating, Purchasing & Preconstruction
Blake Gilmore's Bio
Blake Gilmore joined W.A. Rose in January 2018 as Senior Estimator. Blake will be taking on other responsibilities as the year progresses. A longtime Oakland resident, Blake is the owner of Blake Gilmore General Contractor, which he started in 1981; since then, he has completed hundreds of residential projects throughout the Bay Area. With more than 30 years of comprehensive construction and design-build experience, Blake’s expertise extends to pre-construction planning and estimating, kitchen and bath remodels, seismic upgrades, waterproofing and defect mitigation and green-building technology. He is also recognized for his skill working on historic restoration and renovation projects.
Why his clients love working with him
Attention to detail and a commitment to quality. Expertise with environmental sensitivities. A high level of professionalism and knowledge; he truly cares about the results.
Something you don’t know about Blake
Inquisitive and curious. World traveler. Married to his high-school sweetheart for 44 years. Occasional columnist for The Montclarion: The Built Environment.
Jason Granger's Bio
Jason Granger joined the W.A. Rose team in 2016 and is responsible for project management, sales and estimating. His construction career began two weeks after graduating from high school, when he joined his brother building high-end residential homes in South Lake Tahoe. He started his own company, Granger Built Construction in 2007, then Independent Living Construction, and has continued to grow both his skills and his client list.
What Jason’s clients love about him
Commitment to quality. “Early in my career I made a decision that I didn’t want to just be a carpenter–I wanted to be recognized for quality construction, part of a team that does great work for committed clients across all building environments. Building homes or commercial projects is never just a job for me. This is my career, and I learn from every single project. I love the scope of skills that construction demands—it’s not just about carpentry; it requires project management and communication skills. I take great pride in every project we’ve completed.”
Something you may not know about Jason
Jason married his high-school sweetheart, and they live in Pleasant Hill with their two young daughters. When he’s not working, he spends time with his family—they love road trips to the mountains or ocean to hike or play. Jason is a certified Aging in Place specialist.
Operations
Andy Wiertalla's Bio
Andy Wiertalla joined W.A. Rose in 2019 as a Project Manager. He has more than 15 years of Bay Area construction industry experience.
Andy knew from a very early age that he wanted to be a General Contractor. He was the kid who was always tearing stuff apart and putting it back together again, with varying degrees of success. He took wood shop classes throughout high school, and his first real job was that of a laborer on a construction project. He learned as he went along, steadily growing his skills and increasing his responsibilities. “I love the creativity, the challenge and sense of accomplishment I get from building something from the ground up.”
Most of Andy’s experience is in residential construction. He has worked on a wide range of projects throughout the East Bay, from kitchen and bath remodels to whole-house transformations with earthquake retrofits. Andy has also worked on commercial projects, including multiple restaurants and breweries.
Why his clients love working with him
Attention to detail. Ability to build relationships and get things done.
Something you don’t know about Andy
Total motorcycle junkie. It’s become a passion. He builds them, customizes and rides them. Owns six. Prized possession: A Honda 1978 CB750F series, heavily modified, that he has built from the ground up.
Douglas Wordell's Bio
Douglas Wordell joined W.A. Rose Construction in 2019 as an Estimator. He’s been working in the construction industry for more than a decade in a wide range of increasingly complex commercial and industrial projects and a variety of roles.
Most recently, Douglas managed a complex design/build process to construct a 460,000 sq.ft. warehouse at the Port of Oakland. The project involved working with multiple jurisdictions in the permitting process and working through complex environmental regulatory agencies. He managed the project among the client, design team, the Port, City, superintendents and engineers.
He’s managed multiple projects for Oakland Unified School District and a senior housing complex on the historical register in Carquinez. At Emeryville’s The Courtyards at 65th, he managed the reconstruction process.
Why his clients love working with him
Attention to detail. Ability to build relationships and get things done.
Something you don’t know about Douglas
He’s called Oakland home for more than 20 years and works to improve his community. Loves the outdoors and is always up for a hike or camping trip. Enjoys cooking, mostly Italian and Asian. He’s passionate about fitness and studies history and sociology.
Douglas also has a Certificate in Construction Management and Building Inspection from Laney College.
Jocelyn Newell's Bio
Jocelyn Newell joined W.A. Rose in 2012 as a Project Manager and was promoted to General Manager in 2015. She has more than 13 years of comprehensive construction industry experience in a wide range of roles. Jocelyn regularly manages several jobs at a time from job walkthrough, estimating and managing client relationships through all phases of the construction process. Jocelyn is a graduate of CalState East Bay.
What Jocelyn’s clients love about her
No drama. She always shows up when she says she will. She has an amazing ability to manage the details of multiple jobs and keep them all on track. She’s been doing this a long time and learned early on that nobody likes surprises on construction projects.
Jocelyn at work
An Orinda master bathroom remodel is representative of the way that Jocelyn works with her clients. “Our clients needed to have the project completed before they returned from their six-week vacation, so we began planning months in advance. We couldn’t leave anything to chance and preordered all materials, stored them onsite and committed our subcontractors to specific dates to keep the project on track. We worked some weekends and many evenings to stay on schedule. Happily, our careful planning paid off—our clients were delighted with their new bathroom.”
Something you may not know about Jocelyn
She grew up in a family of ten kids. Jocelyn learned at a very early age that she was just one person on a very large team--there’s no room for princesses in large families.