Press Releases

July 11, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Andrea Sanchez
George Deutsch
713-623-4362
communications@ifma.org

IFMA FOUNDATION NAMES 2008-2009 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
  
HOUSTON — (July 11, 2008) — The IFMA Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of its 2008-2009 executive committee and board of trustees. Melissa Van Hagan, CFM®, CFMJ, of Bank of the West has been named the new foundation chair. Members of the IFMA Foundation board of trustees serve a two-year term and are tasked with managing the foundation and guiding it in its efforts to serve the facility management profession.

“This group of trustees has incredible talent, and it’s a pleasure to work with them and serve as the chair of the foundation this year,” said Van Hagan. “We want to continue to develop more FM degree programs throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe and China. Considering that the average age of a facility manager is 48, and we’re currently graduating roughly 500 students per year in the U.S., the need to expand is critical.”

Also serving on the executive committee are Past Chair Peggy McCarthy, CFM, IFMA Fellow, of the University of Minnesota; First Vice Chair Pat W. Turnbull of Kayhan International; Secretary/Treasurer Pamela Ewton, CFM, of Shell Real Estate; and IFMA President and CEO David J. Brady.

Other members of the IFMA Foundation board of trustees include IFMA Second Vice Chair Francis Kuhn, CFM, CFMJ; Jennifer Corbett-Shramo, IFMA Fellow; Peter Kirk; Kathryn L. Lopez, CFM; Andreas Rohregger, FMP; Eric Teicholz, IFMA Fellow; Stephen Ballesty; and David Hewett, CFM.

This year’s board of trustees has a strong international presence. Ballesty, of Australia, is managing director of advisory at Rider Levett Bucknall and has worked closely with the Australian government on strategic facility management issues. He is also the past chairman of the Facility Management Association of Australia. Rohregger is a doctoral student at the University of Applied Sciences in Kufstein, Austria — one of the IFMA Foundation’s Recognized Degree Program schools. Rohregger is also the only person in Austria to have received IFMA’s Facility Management Professional credential.

“I’m very excited to be working with this group of FM professionals,” said IFMA Foundation Executive Director William Rub. “We have some outstanding research projects in the works that we’ll unveil at this year’s World Workplace conference, and this is the group that’s making it all happen.”

Established in 1990 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation and separate entity from the International Facility Management Association, the IFMA Foundation works for the public good to promote priority research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management. The IFMA Foundation is supported by the generosity of the facility management community, including IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors who are united by the belief that education and research improve the facility management profession. To learn more about the good works of the IFMA Foundation, visit www.ifmafoundation.org. For more information about IFMA, visit www.ifma.org.