This month’s virtual membership meeting revisits diversity in the workplace and continues the discussion begun at the January 2021 meeting and afterwards. Join us and this time hear not from one expert but from a panel of your peers, fellow engineers you’ve met at past ASHRAE events or as past or present members of your firm. You might be surprised and enlightened to hear about the extraordinary cultural, language or racial barriers — this time from the mouths of those trying to overcome one or more. They might benefit from listening to your ideas for bridging gaps in the workplace. We all might come away with 1 or 2 course adjustments for building even better engineering teams where everyone’s contributions push us further toward success!

We’ll begin with introductory remarks by each of our panel members, conduct breakout discussions to gain everyone’s ideas, then return to discuss findings and answer questions. We hope you will join us for this free virtual presentation. Please register today.

PANELISTS

Yvette Anguiano EIT, is an Automation Engineer with 3.5 years' experience at Environmental Systems Design, Inc. She started her career in 2018 in the Automation group working on a national retrofit standardization program for a banking client, transitioned into a commissioning agent role in 2019 working with a different banking client on the commissioning of two hyperscale data centers, and returned to the automation team in 2020 to join the global design program of hyperscale data center campuses for a F50 Tech Company.

Yvette was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, where she grew up in a low-income household of six. She's a first-generation Mexican-American and college graduate. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Outside of work, she is the YEA ASHRAE Co-Chair, she mentors for and serves on the Auxiliary board for Midtown Educational Foundation (non-profit serving low-income Chicago youth), she is a mentor coach for America Needs You (non-profit that provides academic and professional support for first-generation college students) and is the Chair of Board for ESD's Network Empowering Women employee resource group. 

Juan Hernandez is a Mechanical Engineer at SmithGroup, joining the firm as an engineer in 2021. Juan was born in Mexico, the oldest of six children. He has worked in several jobs, from construction to restaurant and retail where he reached a management position and learned the value of developing oneself and others. Working with many people of varied backgrounds enabled him to discover the untapped potential in other people and the rewards that come from helping them develop it. Helping others also led him to the realization that one can achieve almost anything, when one has the willingness and effort to pursue it to the end. Juan is a recent UIC graduate with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Barbara Hickey, of EQ Office, serves as the Director of Operations and Construction at Willis Tower. Barbara’s experience in building operations and construction is rooted in her education and training with IUOE Local 399. Rising to the position of Chief Engineer while continuing her academic study, Barbara achieved success in the business sectors of Commercial Real Estate, GSA, Higher Education and Hospitality.

After earning a Masters of Industrial Technology and Management from IIT, she embraced an opportunity managing new construction of commercial high rise buildings bringing operational efficiency and functionality to the forefront of the integrated design process. Barbara’s passion for the sustainable Built Environment is a great marriage with EQ Office’s commitment to Environmental Social Governance initiatives, and she is excited to be contributing to the innovative changes at Willis Tower.

Shadi Sherafat, Commissioning Engineer, DLR Group, is a commissioning professional with more than 11 years of engineering and energy optimization experience in the USA and Australia. She was born and raised in Iran; her wide range of experience in different work environments and cultures has given her a vision towards pragmatic and comprehensive solutions. Her passion for sustainable engineering and operational excellence has led her towards extensive involvement in different aspects of industry, from sustainable design to smart buildings services including monitoring-based commissioning and building performance data analytics. She leads the DLR Group commissioning team nationally from Chicago and has been an ASHRAE member since 2015.

Shadi has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Environmental Studies. She is a Qualified Commissioning Process Provider (QCxP), Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP), Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP), and LEED AP Building Design & Construction (BD+C).

MODERATOR

Nancy Kohout, P.E. LEED AP BD+C
Principal | Mechanical Discipline Leader, SmithGroup
Nancy Kohout chairs the Women in ASHRAE subcommittee in the Illinois ASHRAE chapter. She has over 20 years of experience as a design engineer in Chicago. As a manager, Nancy is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion and envisions a future where engineers fully reflect the diversity in our society.