The IFMA Foundation today announced the appointment of Diane Coles Levine as Executive Director. Established in 1990 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and separate entity from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the IFMA Foundation works for the public good to promote priority research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management.
Coles Levine’s executive role began July 2, 2018. “After years with IFMA and the IFMA Foundation as a volunteer, it’s a great honor to have been chosen to fill this role at this moment in time,” she said of her new role. “Workplace strategy, smart building technology and the emergence of a truly global FM community mean that workforce development is more important than ever. With the approaching facility management industry labor shortage, the work of the IFMA Foundation is critical in providing accredited degree programs in facility management, technology education for incumbent workers, and scholarships for students.”
Coles Levine has been a driver of workplace strategy within the facility management (FM) community for more than 25 years. She is a cofounder of IFMA’s Workplace Evolutionaries community and the IFMA Foundation Workplace Strategy Research Summits. She is also an award-winning co-editor and author of the “Work on the Move” books and recently completed a three-year term on IFMA’s global board of directors. A sought-after speaker who has guest lectured at MIT and the Vienna University of Technology, Coles Levine has been actively involved in the IFMA Foundation and is one of the pioneers of the foundation’s Global Workforce Initiative. She joins IFMA staff as a remote employee, working from Long Beach, CA.
IFMA Foundation Past Chair Michael Schley expressed the foundation’s excitement about Diane’s appointment as Executive Director. “As a past chair of the IFMA Foundation, recentIFMA board member and experienced facility manager, Diane brings incomparable experience to the foundation. The foundation’s trustees and volunteers look forward to working with Diane to achieve our mission of making FM a career of choice.”
The IFMA Foundation’s 2018-19 Board of Trustees Executive Committee includes:
Chair — Nancy Johnson Sanquist, IFMA Fellow
First Vice Chair — Joseph Archie
Second Vice Chair — Tony Piucci
Past Chair — Michael Schley, IFMA Fellow
The IFMA Foundation expressed appreciation to Jeff Tafel, CAE, who served as the foundation’s executive director of more than 15 years. Tafel’s departure came as he was named Chief Officer of the Home Builders Association of Western Michigan.
