BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I’ve been in the industry ever since I was a teenager, when I got a job as a service technician in a Coca-Cola factory. I found that I was interested in a technical job, so I went to college to get my associates degree in air conditioning and refrigeration from Tarrant County College. The industry has been extremely good to me; there were always job opportunities for me when I needed to. I now teach at Tarrant County as a way to give back to an industry that was always there for me. The BEST Center is a valuable resource for me to learn about technologies that I’m interested in and improve my curriculum as an instructor. We only offer one advanced controls class right now; my hope is that the BEST Center’s resources help us expand and offer more controls classes.”

– Michael Laster

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I did my undergraduate at Clinton University with a degree in mechanical engineering. I was really interested in HVAC technologies so I pursued a master’s degree, but I got the opportunity to teach at Tri-County Technical College. As an instructor, I have discovered that I want to set future technicians on the right path to be a good human first and a good technician second. Practicing sustainability and being environmentally conscious while being a technician is something that has to be taught in order for it to be honorably practiced. The BEST Center teaches me about building automation technologies that I integrate into my lesson plan. Their resources let me teach the importance of environmentally safe practices, which I hope encourages students to be more aware while they’re working in the field.”

– Justin Herndon

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I teach energy management and building automation systems at Delaware Technical Community College. Before I started teaching, I worked over 40 years as a licensed engineer. I started teaching because I wanted to share the wealth of knowledge that I gained from working on projects over the years and keep the engineering spirit going. Building automation systems is extremely important for combating climate change through optimizing energy efficiency. My home has net zero emissions; and the simplicity is in the design itself. I want to teach the next generation of engineers about how just orienting appliances and investing in good ventilation systems can reduce energy consumption drastically. The BEST Center has given me valuable information about HVAC controls systems which I incorporate into my classes as well as my home.”

– James Horst

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I have an Associates in Applied Science for Air Conditioning but I learned most of what I know from job experience. I mainly teach electrical, HVACR, and train industrial electricians at Walla Walla Community College. I’ve been in the trades my whole life, so believe me when I say that it is a great paying career that doesn’t require so much education. One of the reasons why I teach is to offer opportunities for people who want a hands-on job and may not want to commit to a 4 year college program. The BEST Center has provided me with so much knowledge about how other instructors are teaching classes similar to mine and about new technologies so I can incorporate that into my classes.”

– Charlie Miller

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I received my BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. I saw how education changed my career and lifestyle, so I went for a doctorate in higher education to help change peoples’ lives.  I am currently an instructor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, as well as, the Program Chair of Energy Management and Controls Technology at Valencia College. I wanted to create a building automation program at my college and BEST Center has been a major resource for forming our classroom and curriculum. The informative workshops and connections to professors all over the country made the new BAS technician program start off strong. Seeing how transformative education is in an individual’s life inspires me to teach and build programs that will launch people into a career in building automation.”

– Dr. Deb Hall

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I currently teach building automation and HVACR classes at Wake Technical College in North Carolina. When I was 19, I went to community college to get into the HVACR industry for job security. As I got more involved over the years, I found that my passion lies in teaching and encouraging young students to learn the trades. The building automation program at Wake Tech is very new, the BEST Center has been an amazing resource for me to plan my classes and program. The educational material is not the only aspect of the center that is helpful; its connections with instructors across the country has helped tremendously. Being part of a group that goes through the same struggles, I have learned so much on how to run my classes.”

– Michael Ladd

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I am the lead HVAC technologies instructor at Texas State Technical College, which is also where I received my associate’s in applied science for air conditioning. After 10 years of serving my country in the Marines; I want to help my community by educating students on building automation. One of my biggest inspirations about being an instructor is how influential we are to students’ lives and career practices. In the end, the way we teach our students about being environmentally conscious directly affects the result of climate change for the future. That’s why I continue to be a member of the BEST Center. Its informative workshops help me learn about recent technology that I am not familiar with. Passing on current knowledge and improving my program so that students understand the importance of practicing sustainability is a major part of being an instructor.”

– Jorge Cabrera

BEST Center is made up of dedicated staff and members. This is the latest spotlight in a series about our community.

“I am the director, at BEST Center, in charge of developing strategic partnerships. I got my Architecture Engineering degree from Princeton and my Master’s in Architecture from Yale. I was a teaching professor when I joined the Peralta Sustainability Committee; this is when I became the coordinator under the NSF grant to help form the BEST Center.

What inspired me to be more involved with building efficiency was when I learned that: buildings use 40% of the energy, are responsible for 40% of carbon emissions, and people spend 90% of their time indoors. I hope that students and faculty take their time to go through our website to further their education on building sustainability and realize that a career in this field is very lucrative and rewarding.”

– Larry Chang