As I come to the end of my 6-year journey as a Non-Executive Director for AIRAH, it is with great pride that I hand the baton over to the newly elected Board.
Reflecting on my time, I am incredibly honoured to have worked with such an amazing team of talented people. A big thank you to my fellow Board members Paul Jackson, Mikaila Ganado, Bryon Price, Ura Sarfejoo and Chris Stamatis; together with Trish Hyde (CEO), Tony Gleeson (past CEO) and Sami Zheng. As well as past Board members, Ian Harwood, Nathan Groenhout, Stefan Jensen, and Paul Bannister. And a big welcome to Michael Riese, who joins the Board this year.
Together, we can achieve great things. It’s not often we get a chance to build a world leading Innovation Hub, survive a pandemic, turn 100 and achieve gender parity on the AIRAH Board!
One of my proudest moments was helping to launch the $18.4m Innovation Hub for Affordable Heating and Cooling (iHub), championing cutting edge research with CSIRO, QUT, UOW, University of Melbourne and ARENA. The objective of the iHub initiative is to facilitate the HVAC&R industry’s transition to a low emissions future, stimulate jobs growth, and showcase innovation in buildings. For more information, click here.
As co-founding Chair of the Resilience Special Technical Group, I am also incredibly proud to have helped bring together the AIRAH Resilience Checklist with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources (DISER). Designed for professionals and practitioners, the checklist discusses technical concepts involved in improving the resilience of buildings and their HVAC systems. You can find out more about the checklist, here.
Another highlight of my time as a Non-Executive Director was achieving gender equality on the AIRAH Board. As a strong advocate for women in the industry, I am proud to have contributed to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation. Together, we helped to ‘break the bias’ and set an example for other organisations to follow.
Finally, AIRAH turned 100 AND survived a pandemic! Supporting CEO Tony Gleeson and the AIRAH team through the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging but rewarding experience. It is thanks to our incredibly talented team that AIRAH not only survived but thrived. We were able to quickly pivot and fast track digital initiatives such as webinars and online conferences, helping to bring the industry together and stay connected during a difficult time.
Looking back on my time with the Board, I am so proud of everything we accomplished, and I am excited to watch AIRAH continue to achieve great things in the future!
