2020 Class of IFMA Fellows and Board Chair Citation recipients honored as part of IFMA’s World Workplace® 2020 Virtual Experience

IFMA is pleased to announce the 2020 Class of IFMA Fellows. Bestowed with the association’s highest honor, this year’s inductees include Diane Coles Levine, Geoff Williams, Kenneth Foo Yew Hoong and Valerian Moraes. In addition, IFMA is proud to announce its own professional staff as the recipients of the 2020 Board Chair Citation.

The induction of the new Class of IFMA Fellows and the awarding of the chair citation are traditionally presented live at IFMA’s World Workplace^® Conference and Expo; however, with World Workplace held virtually this year, honorees are being celebrated in a pre-recorded video, available for viewing during the Dec. 9-10 event.

IFMA’s Fellows Program was established in 1992 to recognize association members who have distinguished themselves by achievement in and around IFMA and the field of facility management (FM). IFMA Fellows form an elite core of respected leaders who advise and represent the association.

“The pandemic has compelled us to rethink normal activities and reimagine everything from our workplaces to conferences to family celebrations,” said Chair of IFMA’s Global Board of Directors Peter Ankerstjerne. “Ensuring that our flagship conference includes essential recognition of stand-out achievers required creativity, initiative, and the cooperation of our distinguished honorees and their nominators.”

Each year, nominations for IFMA Fellows are submitted to a Jury of Fellows, which consists of three IFMA Fellows, the IFMA Chair and President/COO. The video includes introductions by each of this year’s nominators and remarks by the 2020 inductees.

Following the Fellows segment, IFMA Chair Peter Ankerstjerne presents the chair citation, accepted on behalf of IFMA staff by association President and COO Don Gilpin.

Ankerstjerne recognized IFMA’s professional staff for their adaptability, resilience, initiative and professionalism amid the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustaining the association with their resourcefulness and remarkable talents, staff members acclimated seamlessly to full-time remote work, continuing to develop and deliver exceptional resources for the FM industry; and accepted an interim salary cut without hesitation, which helped IFMA remain stable going into the next fiscal year.

“In this disconcerting year, many of us have been pushed to the limit; yet, we carried on. One such group of exceptional women and men reached far beyond what could have reasonably been expected, bringing both the industry and the association through multiple crises, while also strengthening us for years to come. IFMA’s workforce has been the driving force behind 40 years of progress,” said Ankerstjerne.

2020 Class of IFMA Fellows includes:

Diane Coles Levine, MCR, IFMA Fellow

Nominated by Michael Schley, IFMA Fellow

Levine has worked tirelessly to expand FM education and career opportunities, particularly for economically disadvantaged young people. In her role as IFMA Foundation Chair, she and her team created the Global Workforce Initiative (GWI) program, forging partnerships with state agencies, community development leaders, IFMA chapters and local community colleges to expand FM educational infrastructure and make FM a career of choice. Levine blazed a trail in workplace strategy. Her groundbreaking project in agile workspace as the Director of Facilities and Real Estate at SCAN Health Plan was recognized with IFMA’s 2009 George Graves Facility Management Achievement award and was the impetus for the award-winning “Work on the Move” book series, IFMA’s Workplace Evolutionaries Community, the IFMA Foundation’s Workplace Strategy Summits, and a course on workplace strategy at the Vienna University of Technology Master’s Program. In her current position as IFMA Foundation Executive Director, she directs and grows GWI and Accredited Degree Programs, as well as FM scholarships, student competitions and fundraising.

Geoff Williams, CFM, FMP, SFP, IFMA Fellow

Nominated by Stephen Ballesty, FRICS, FAIQS, CFM, CQS, IFMA Fellow

Williams has served as a mentor for young and experienced professionals, as an IFMA leader, a developer of learning platforms and textbooks, an educator on a global stage and as a well-known industry speaker. He has been actively involved in IFMA, serving as president of IFMA’s Toronto Chapter and Information Technology Council; serving as a committee member and chair of IFMA’s Young Professionals Task Force and Knowledge Strategy Committee, leading the team that developed a vision for IFMA’s Knowledge Library; serving on IFMA’s board of directors; and serving as Regional Board Liaison for Canada, speaking on behalf of Canadian membership. Williams’ passion for developing the future of the profession has been demonstrated inside and outside the classroom as an instructor. His contributions as a writer and editor represent a significant investment in producing content that supports professional development, including the 425-page “Facility Manager's Guide to Information Technology,” and the 635-page second edition of the Guide, for which he received IFMA’s 2019 Distinguished Author Award of Excellence.

Kenneth Foo Yew Hoong, BEng(Hons), GDipM, IFMA Fellow

Nominated by Jeffrey Budimulia, CFM, IFMA Fellow

Dedicated to enhancing recognition of FM in Asia, Kenneth FOO has worked with business leaders and local authorities to help them understand the value of FM in an ever-changing business climate; nurturing and mentoring FMs to be leaders in their own rights; and promoting FM as a way to bring business, engineering and people of different backgrounds and experiences together to meet management goals. His efforts as founding member and president of the IFMA Singapore chapter led to acceptance of IFMA courses into Singapore’s universities and polytechnics. As a result of his advocacy as president of IFMA’s Hong Kong Chapter, IFMA was recognized by the Hong Kong government as a professional body and IFMA’s Certified Facility Manager^® credential was recognized as one of the pre-requisites for FMs to practice in Hong Kong. His position as Executive Director in a reputable real estate company in Asia has led to multiple invitations to chair, moderate and speak at industry conferences in the region. He was awarded IFMA’s 2019 Asia-Pacific Certificate of Excellence in Environmental Stewardship and IFMA’s 2018 Asia-Pacific Award for Best Occupational Health & Safety.

Valerian Moraes, CFM, MBA, Assoc. RICS, IFMA Fellow

Nominated by Alex Lam, MRAIC, IFMA Fellow

Moraes’ 40 years of diverse facilities experience provided him with the background to introduce, establish and advance the FM profession in New Zealand as one of the four founding fathers and past chair of the FM association in New Zealand (FMANZ). Recognized in 2014 as an FMANZ Fellow, he has contributed significantly to IFMA’s Asia-Pacific region, working to foster professional relationships between IFMA, FMANZ and RICS. He has served as a board member of IFMA’s Asia-Pacific Advisory Board, as Global Liaison for the Asia-Pacific Region for IFMA’s FM Consultants Council, and as Vice President of IFMA’s Business Community. Moraes was awarded the 2001 Energy Manager Award from New Zealand’s Minister of Energy. He has been a mentor for FMs at Air New Zealand and Westfield and Apex Air and carries out in-house training and mentoring programs for his team of facility managers in Auckland. He has spoken at industry events such as FM Australia’s Ideaction, IFMA’s World Workplace, Euro FM and Total FM conferences.