Features Region: Southeast

Jason Pafundi: Jack, you have been at Dataw Island Club for more than 15 years. What does your job look like today? Jack Aldrich III: My job is basically keeping the island moving. I’m the Director of Building Facilities and Maintenance at Dataw Island Club in St. Helena, South Carolina. We take care of more […]

Momentum often arrives disguised as disruption. For Scott Respass, executive director of facilities for Presbyterian College, the first year on campus was defined not by a quiet transition but by $1.6 million in storm damage that tested both the infrastructure and the institutional resolve. Rather than viewing the crisis as a setback, Respass treated it […]

Ashlyn Ours does not treat a healthcare building as a container for medicine. As director of real estate development and facilities for Tribe 513, she treats the built environment as part of the care itself, another set of hands in the room. Her work sits at the intersection of construction discipline and human dignity. A […]

Quiet reliability defines a great university campus. Classrooms open on time, laboratories operate without interruption, residence halls remain clean and functional, and thousands of daily interactions unfold in spaces that simply work. At the University of Florida, that consistency is engineered behind the scenes by facilities professionals who see their role as essential to the […]

Drew Blazure’s relationship with the campus of The Society of the Four Arts did not begin in an office or a boardroom. It began in hard hats and work boots, during his time as a construction superintendent, helping build the King Library. The project gave him more than professional satisfaction. It gave him a sense […]

When Catherine “Cathy” Robbins first joined what is now the GuideWell Source Family of Companies in 1985 as an administrative assistant, she couldn’t have imagined that she would one day lead corporate services and risk management for a national enterprise. Nearly 40 years later, Robbins’ career reflects the organization’s defining commitment to “doing the right […]

As a senior director of design and construction for Inova, Roberta Via brings a deep sense of purpose to every project she touches—one grounded not just in engineering precision, but in compassion. With over two decades of experience guiding multimillion-dollar healthcare projects, Roberta is shaping the built environments where life-changing care occurs. Inova is the […]

Todd Nielsen, the director of facilities and special projects for Goodwill of the Southern Rivers, has spent his career shaping, building and leading. From his early military days to his current role overseeing multi-state construction and maintenance projects, Nielsen has honed his leadership style through experience, adaptability and a commitment to listening.   Nielsen’s career […]

Just keeping up with the real estate and facility demands would keep Christopher Hahn busy.

Growing up in Boston, Remy Saintil never rode a school bus. Instead, the T would take him straight from his neighborhood in Mattapan to his school in Roxbury—a cheap and reliable mode of transportation tailor-made for city living. It’s those twin principles of practicality and convenience that continue to drive the first-generation American in his […]