ASHRAE Journal - August 2024 - 14

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
developing people.
Data shows that investing in developing people
enhances their loyalty, retention and impact. We
want employees to be motivated, highly productive,
innovative and profi table for as long as they stay in
our fi rms.
Remember my fi rst job as a draftsperson? Fred
a career in this industry. By the end of this year, every
member will be able to articulate our " Why " s. Why is
this a great career? Why should people be interested in
this work? Why is our fi eld essential for survival as it
commits to protecting our globe? Just as I tell my story
today, we can all tell our stories-your stories.
New Member Resource Groups
Second, we are creating new Member Resource
Groups (MRGs). How about that? Another new
acronym. MRGs help solve problems and grow
interaction between similar sets of ASHRAE members.
Member Resource Groups promote a sense of
belonging and enable more effi cient networking. They
are not new to ASHRAE. We've successfully developed
Member Resource Groups such as Young Engineers in
ASHRAE, Women in ASHRAE, Student Members and
our many technical committees. The representation
within these groups brings different perspectives,
experiences and ideas that ultimately advance our
industry. Two new groups are being piloted here in
Indianapolis: Young Professionals with Families and
the New Members Club.
Individual and Collective Professional
Development And Transformational Learning
Third, we are investing in and committed to
individual and collective professional development.
Let's change our thinking about the value of
14
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org A U G U ST 2 0 2 4
Howard and my employer began investing in and
committing to my personal growth and development
nearly a year and a half before I graduated from high
school. This initiative aims to develop new programs
and modernize our education delivery platforms to
provide technical onboarding and training materials
for mechanical engineers, contractors, manufacturers,
technicians and building scientists. Powered by
ASHRAE's 130-year reputation within the built
environment, we will continue to be the industry's go-to
resource for HVAC&R and building science education to
new employees and to maintain and increase the skills
of mid-career and more senior-level professionals.
Supporting Workforce Development
Leading up to this Society year, we've been fortunate
to begin work on a few programs to support workforce
development.
Industry Summit
We have started building relationships with U.S.
federal agencies, associate societies and the United
Nations Global Alliance for Building Construction
around this topic. As a result, we will host an industry
summit on a global workforce needs assessment tied
to our building decarbonization conference in New
York City.
Endowed Scholarship Fund
We are creating new endowed scholarship funds to
allow practicing professionals to take advantage of our
professional development opportunities.
Decarbonization Challenge
A focus of this Society year's ASHRAE Decarbonization
Challenge and the Presidential Award of Excellence at
the chapter level will be on technical talks delivered
by local practicing professionals that emphasize
upskilling and reskilling, targeting young and midcareer
engineers.
" Today, rapidly changing technology
and artificial intelligence (AI) are
transforming the building science
industry and presenting numerous
career opportunities. "
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ASHRAE Journal - August 2024

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