Gwenn serves as our Attendance & Reception Chair. Read more about her here!
- Name: Gwenn Ivester
- Company and Position: Cushman & Wakefield, Engineering Project Manager
- What does your company do/provide? Real Estate & Property Management
- How long have you worked for them? 11 years
- How did you come to work in your field? Got my undergraduate degree in physics and applied engineering then was recruited to work at the St. Louis Edward Jones data center right after college.
- What is your main job function? What are you responsible for? I manage electrical infrastructure upgrades, data center, energy management, and business continuity projects for Edward Jones’s Facilities department
- What is the biggest challenge you face in your job? Wearing a lot of hats and the limited number of hours in the day.
- What’s your favorite thing about working in this industry? The diversity of the work and its criticality to the client’s business.
- What’s your involvement in ASHRAE? I have been a member for many years but only got involved with the chapter more recently. This led to being wrangled into the chapter RP committee with Jessica last year and a position on the BOG this year. Attending the annual conference in our hometown this year was a great experience as well.
- What is your responsibility on the Board? I am director of Attendance and Reception.
- What advice would you give someone just graduating college and starting in the HVAC world? Keep your options open. If I had not been recruited into the data center industry I probably never would have ended up in the building industry. I probably would have progressed into electronics research and hated it. Good engineers and project managers are needed everywhere in the industry.
- What’s something you’ve learned through your involvement in ASHRAE? Their members are crazy devoted, I even met a guy at the annual conference that had an ASHRAE tattoo! I also think ASHRAE is top notch at promoting issues and developing solutions that are at the forefront of the built environment.
- What made you want to be involved in ASHRAE? (Either on the board or as a regular member.) My father was an HVAC engineer among many other things which made me have an interest in the complexity of mechanical systems from an early age. Also as HVAC is a major source of building energy consumption and being highly critical in data centers, it is a job requirement to stay current in the industry. ASHRAE is the organization in which to do that.
- Name one person who has been a mentor or an inspiration to you in your life (does not have to be in ASHRAE or in your professional career). Tell me about how they influenced you. As mentioned above, my father has always been a big part of my interest and determination in what has become my chosen field. There are several others along the way that have inspired me with their knowledge and execution of that knowledge. I am also re-energized by being around others in ASHARE that have the same geeky interests and drive to succeed.
- Do you have a favorite sport or team? St. Louis Cardinals of course! Seriously it’s the only professional team I care about.
- What’s your favorite type of music or favorite band? My taste are rather eclectic and range from classic rock to classic/alternative country to hip hop. Just no new country!
- What’s your favorite thing to do for fun? Light hiking and equestrian activities
- Where is the coolest place you have traveled? Or what was the best vacation you’ve ever had? Visiting my grandmother in Northern Ireland. It was an awesome 3 weeks of exploring and getting immersed in another country’s culture and history.
- When you retire and have a lot more time on your hands, what will you do? Hopefully travel and experience as many of the world’s natural wonders and historical points of interest as possible.
