One of my favorite issues every year is when we get to introduce the latest class of Facility Champions to our readers.
This year's recipients represent a diverse set of the institutional and commercial facilities we cover — colleges and universities, K-12 schools, municipal government, commercial buildings and non-profit organizations.
The eight honorees each bring their own unique stories to how they found their way into the profession. It's also notable that one-half of the recipients are women – the most women we have honored in one year. Of course, as facility professionals, each Champion has a project or two that they've successfully navigated that helped them earn this recognition.
But it's their leadership abilities that make these eight Champions stand out from their peers. Tessa Chilson, one of our 2026 Facility Champions, defined leadership in this way: “Leadership is ultimately about helping others succeed and creating positive outcomes.”
It's easy to think of the best facility managers as the ones who can work with the C-Suite to get important projects approved, solve budgeting concerns or have in-depth knowledge of the systems powering the facilities they manage.
But many facilities executives I speak with say their No. 1 priority — and challenge — is managing people. And for many leaders with a background in operating systems or starting their careers in the trades, the thought of working with a staff member who is struggling with a personal issue or hiring the right candidate for a job opening is intimidating.
When a facilities leader can turn those worries into strengths, they have what it takes to be a Facility Champion.
Read more about our 2026 Facility Champions in this month's interactive issue on pages 3-5, then sign up here for our Nov. 24 webcast, “What Great Facility Leaders Do: Lessons From the Field” to hear from our champions.
Congratulations to our 2026 class, and thank you to the more than 100 people who submitted candidates. We can't wait to kick off the 2027 program.
Dave Lubach is the chief editor of the facilities market. After serving as associate editor for Facility Maintenance Decisions from 2012 to 2016, he returned to Trade Press Media Group in 2021 and was elevated to his current position in October 2025. Dave manages the facilities team and helps shape the education content for NFMT and Elevate events.
