Two new members join the family
A spotlight of two new EFMA members
By Taryn Rittberg
T
he ways in which the members of the Educational Facilities Managers’ Association of B.C. (EFMA) make it possible for students to learn in a safe and secure environment are innumerable. With a strong membership of facility managers across the province, the EFMA is more a community than association, providing members support and encouragement, and allowing members to source information from those with similar experience and knowledge. Here’s a look at two members who joined the family this year.
Don Lee
Manager, Maintenance Services and Trades for SD#41 Don Lee was born and raised in “good old east Vancouver”, British Columbia. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in the electrical field, specializing in telecommunications. He is married and has two children who both attended public school in Burnaby and now are attending Simon Fraser University. Lee is proud to have called Burnaby his home for the past 20 years. Lee spent the first half of his career in the high-tech private sector, and worked for a variety of companies including Nice Systems, Creo, Kodak GCG, and Honeywell Business Solutions. Initially, Lee worked in engineering, design, and 20
Ops Talk • Fall 2018
production, eventually transitioning to a more managerial position later on in his career. Having spent two decades in the private high-tech sector, Lee decided to go back to school and complete the Sustainable Energy Management Advanced Certificate program at BCIT.
any problems they have. Like most pub-
While Lee rejoined the private sector for a short time after completing the certificate program, he soon was afforded the opportunity to work with the Burnaby Facilities and Maintenance Department to manage the HVAC division. From there he created a policy to re-integrate and re-establish an internal HVAC team. Lee credits this opportunity to good timing and has since been with the Burnaby School District, where he is now one of the managers within the facility team and is responsible for the trades groups within the Burnaby school.
difficult to overcome.
“I really enjoy going out and meeting the folks in our schools and doing our best to address any issues they have with their sites. There is a lot of satisfaction working with all the trades professionals to provide a consistent level of service to the schools and allowing the education staff to focus on teaching the kids in the best possible environment.”
vantage of”.
Lee finds a great deal of satisfaction in having the opportunity to address schools’ issues and hopefully resolving
says Lee. “The ability to give something
lic sector organizations, Lee notes they are always trying to do more with less and to find ways to use taxpayer dollars in the best way possible. There are constant struggles with flat or decreasing budgets and increasing costs, which are
“With buildings continuing to age and the costs to maintain and repair continuing to escalate, it can become a frustrating situation,” says Lee. In 2018 Lee joined the EFMA and attended his first EFMA conference this past June. He found that there was an outstanding amount of knowledge and a wealth of experience to help him with issues that sometimes felt solely his own. The EFMA provided “a whole world of support and expertise across the province that members can take ad-
After working in both the private and public sectors, Lee has a unique view on the importance of jobs within the public field. “I’m really happy to be back working in the education sector and proud to work for the Burnaby school district,” back and provide a service that makes a small difference is very satisfying.”
