Before joining the International Board, Lyn was on the board of the California BCA. She has been on the board of the BCA Annual Conference since 2015. Outside of the BCA, Lyn is a commissioning coordinator at DPR Construction. She is co-chair for the new IES standard on sequences of operation for lighting control systems and teaches classes on lighting control systems and will chair the upcoming revision to DG-29, the Commissioning Process Applied to Lighting and Control Systems. She also teaches classes on lighting control systems at the Pacific Energy Center and LightFair. In her spare time, she is on the advisory board of Techbridge, an afterschool STEM program for girls, who awarded her “role model of the year” in 2009.
Jonathan is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and a LEED Accredited Professional. He is currently serving as President on the International Board of Directors of the Building Commissioning Association (BCxA) and helped charter the Texas Chapter of the BCxA (TCBCA). He then served two years as Treasurer and two years as President on the TCBCA Board of Directors.
His commitment to and involvement with the BCxA resulted in his being recognized with the President’s Award. In his acceptance speech he emphasized the importance of “team,” noting that “Building commissioning is not only about energy efficiency, but about team efficiency.”
Jonathan understands that any building – old or new – is only as successful and efficient as the performance of its systems. His interest in sustainability and energy efficiency began when he was conducting energy retrofits for buildings, and he has channeled this experience and his passion into a successful career as a leader in building commissioning.
The first Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP) in Houston, Jonathan is an accomplished leader and team builder. In a little over a decade, he has grown Page’s commissioning team and practice to one of the top 15 commissioning providers in the country. His expertise includes energy services, temperature controls, and existing building commissioning services for improved client comfort, equipment performance, and energy savings.
We asked what Jonathan values most about his BCxA membership....
I have found a community of people that are as passionate about Building Commissioning as I am. We are all eager to share our challenges and success to help make the Cx industry thrive and find its true potential to optimize project delivery and operations for the life of the building.
Craig has over 25 years working in the construction industry between Eastern and Western Canada. His experience includes formwork design, structural drafting and over 19 years of as a commissioning authority including project management and administration. His work has been in many different sectors including commercial, institutional, recreational and healthcare.
In his 19 years at CFMS, Craig has moved from being a project manager at CFMS Consulting in Toronto to the president and general manager of CFMS Alberta, responsible for the day to day operations of this rapidly expanding company. Craig has refined his managerial, technical, and communication skills through the successful completion of many projects with a value exceeding $100 million. From the design phase, through the first year of operation, Craig has participated in and led the commissioning process through all aspects of the construction process. His strong work ethic is enhanced by his partnership approach and he continually strives to be a team player with the common goal of a successfully commissioned, well operated project.
Janelle Griffin leads the Facility Engineering and BAS Operations group at RTI International, a 1 million square foot research campus in RTP, North Carolina. In this role she is responsible for energy management, quality control in design and construction, maintaining design standards, lab ventilation programs, building automation maintenance and operations, small projects, support of capital planning and Internal sustainability programs. She utilizes her background in engineering and commissioning with a systems and life cycle focus to lead continued improvements in building performance, reliability, safety, and energy efficiency. Prior to RTI she was a Commissioning project manager at Dewberry for 5 years. Her experience includes commissioning, retro-commissioning and energy modeling for healthcare, classroom, office, museum, laboratory, military, and dormitory facilities. She believes that project delivery can be improved by bridging gaps in communication and knowledge across project teams resulting in high-performing buildings. Experience of note includes RTI Campus BAS Replacement; Pentagon Chiller Plant Integrity Study and Long Term Plan; retro-commissioning at MacDill Air Force Base and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; commissioning Veteran’s Affairs Outpatient Clinics, the Regional Medical Center, as well as various state government and higher education facilities.
Ms. Griffin received a BS in Architectural Engineering and Civil Engineering from the University of Miami and a MS at NC State University where she focused on energy conservation in early building design and environmental sustainability. Ms. Griffin is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of North Carolina, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Certified Commissioning Professional.
Vince has recently been promoted to VP of commissioning, overseeing the commissioning teams within Bernhard TME to ensure commissioning services meet industry standards and code compliance. His leadership and technical guidance for the commissioning team ensures that the Commissioning Teams are based out of Little Rock, Birmingham, Houston, and Salt Lake City and Provide clients with the highest standard of quality for commissioning services. Vince has extensive commissioning and project management experience that builds upon his background in HVAC design and early career in the merchant navy. His diverse industry knowledge includes healthcare, higher education, laboratories, correctional facilities, and mission-critical facilities. Vince’s emphasis on design review is the key to finding issues early and helping to mitigate costly redesigns and fixes later down the road. In his off time, he hikes, mountain bikes, or goes camping with his family, with a few sailboat races locally and nationally.
We asked what Vince values most about his BCxA membership....
If I had to surmise into one word, it would be “knowledge” whether it’s helping out a fellow provider or learning from them, staying in touch with local or national policies that affect our industry. Membership is also about being part of a greater community for commissioning.
Kari has served on the board of National Capital Chapter for the last 3 years as an officer and Immediate Past President. She is the President of Precis Commissioning, Inc. (PrecisCx), a Commissioning and Qualification Services firm focused in pharmaceutical/biotech, R&D, healthcare industries. Kari’s passion for building teams with owners, design professionals, and contractors affords her the ability to consider all stakeholder concerns throughout project delivery. She is dedicated to establishing a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and support, where the highest standards of excellence are defined by their work. PrecisCx was #25 of 100 of the fastest growing, independently owned companies in the 2018 Philly 100.
Kari holds a B AE and M AE from Penn State where she has been a guest lecturer. She is a licensed PE, a CxA, and is OSHA 30 trained.
Outside the building industry, Kari volunteers as Envoy and Certification Committee Chair for WBEC East and as a WBENC Forum Team Representative She was named a WBENC Star for 2020. Kari also volunteers with Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology and two German Shepherd rescues.
PrecisCx is a WBENC certified Women’s Business Enterprise and Woman Owned Small Business.
We asked Kari what she values most about her BCxA membership....
My greatest value is access to Best Practices.
Before joining the International Board, Russell was on the board of the Southwest Chapter of the BCA for 8 years serving as an officer including President. He is a Cx process leader and an MEP Senior Project Director with a National Builder/Developer and specializes in Mission Critical projects. One of Russell’s strengths is commissioning exceptionally complex facilities, like data centers, clean rooms, laboratories, and hospitals. Russell’s career started as a controls contractor and through the years progressed to a Branch Manager role with a Fortune 50 Controls, Service and Equipment Company. He has led over 150 projects since becoming a Commissioning provider in 2009. His peers consider him an expert in controls, system integration, and commissioning process management. Russell believes that commissioning is ever-evolving and relentlessly pursues new methods and technologies. He maintains that commissioning is most effective when the construction team prepares for the process. Based on coming up through the trades he has a knack for connecting with the trades and ensuring that all work together as a team to resolve system issues before commissioning, facilitating a smooth process.
We asked what Russel values most about his BCxA membership....
I value the networking with like-minded individuals who are passionate about Cx and elevating the delivery of Cx via best practices.
I would rather not talk about me, because I know that I have gotten this far in my career mostly due to other people (people like you) … I love to ask questions of others and listen. Early on in my career, my first boss, who hired me as an application engineer for Robertshaw pneumatic controls, put me to work in the field with our Steamfitter installation crew for 2 months and I learned firsthand how to install and perhaps more importantly make work what I was going to be learning how to design/apply in the near future. This field experience instilled in me what is now my main tenet ‘appreciate what ALL others do’.
The next logical step from this appreciation was to give back to others. I learned so much important stuff from others, including the hard knocks lessons…you learn a lot from ouches and mistakes. I am far from the smartest person in the room, I make it a point to listen to everyone: those who perceive themselves as smart, the truly smart, and most importantly the people who are unknowingly smart. I am never short of providing an opinion … I think at heart, I have always been a commissioning provider, as I seek to provide opinion, not direction.
So here is a quick summary of me: BS in Architectural Engineering from MSOE. The first 20 years of my career was in control contracting. Seventeen years ago I got lured to be a commissioning, a department of one. Now I co-lead a team of many.
Nicole started her career in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2008 as a contract administrator before co-founding Vertica Engineering in 2022. As a mechanical engineer specializing in HVAC, plumbing and fire protection systems throughout Western Canada she has a deep understanding of mechanical system construction and operation, working in multiple industry sectors on hundreds of projects throughout her career.
Nicole served as President of the Western Canada Chapter of the BCxA in 2023, leading her chapter to host the most successful National Conference on Building Facilities and Operations (NCBFO) to date. She worked on the BCxA DEI Taskforce, provided upgrades to the EBCx online university program, and contributes monthly to the BCxA Checklist.
Nicole is also a freelance writer and international speaker on a variety of commissioning and engineering topics. She enjoys giving back to the industry and paving the way for commissioning providers and engineers of the future.
Kevin Thurston is the Owner and Senior Engineer at Thurston Engineering Services. He has been involved in commissioning buildings for more than 20 years and has been involved in hundreds of projects in that time. Kevin holds the designations of Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Measurement & Verification Professional (CMVP) from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). He is the Past President of the Western Canadian Chapter of the Building Commissioning Association (BCA). He has his Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP) designation through the Building Commissioning Certification Board (BCCB). Kevin is the Past President and Vice President and is the current Treasurer of the BCCB. Kevin is one of two Professional Engineers in Saskatchewan with the CCP designation and one of only 28 Commissioning providers in all of Canada.
Kevin started Thurston Engineering Services in January 2009 and incorporated in 2010. Prior to starting his own company, he led/managed/grew the Energy Management and Commissioning Divisions for Integrated Designs Inc. in Saskatoon (sub-consultant 2001-2010). Prior to 2001, Kevin flew in the Canadian Air Force as an Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer (retired Captain, 1986-1997). Thurston Engineering Services is a Certified Commissioning Firm (CCF). Kevin is the BOMA Verifier for Saskatchewan.
Kevin has been very active for the past two years on the Membership Committee and is a regular attendee at the National Conference and the Leadership Conference. Kevin instructs the Existing Building Commissioning Course and has taught the New Construction Commissioning Course for the BCA.