Diane Bracken knows what it means to work hard. As the director of facilities, planning and construction for Pensacola State College, she is willing to put in the hard work each and every day because she knows that creating and maintaining spaces for students helps them achieve the best version of themselves.
Since starting her position in 2016, she has been tasked with facilities planning, construction, maintenance, access control, grounds and so much more. During her tenure she has added new positions to increase the scope of services and has changed the hierarchy of managerial jobs to provide more time for managers to focus on their respective areas. In addition, she has been a point person during multiple building construction and renovation projects across the college’s six campus. Her devotion to her work has garnered her tremendous respect and numerous accolades, including a hall being named after her in the college’s new Cybersecurity Building.
“When I first went to work at Northwest Florida State College, they were just beginning construction on a Performing Arts Center,” Bracken says. “I got to work closely with the facilities coordinator at that time and became fascinated with the planning and construction process. In my career, I have been involved with approximately $150 million worth of construction. The buildings are all beautiful and functional. My favorite project was the replacement building in 2024 for a building that was built in 1956. To see the difference in functionality for the students was amazing.”
Bracken is one of eight facility professionals to be named to FacilitiesNet’s fourth annual Facility Champion award. The Champions play a critical role in ensuring the efficient and effective operation of buildings across the country, all while exhibiting strong leadership and pride within the industry.
“It is very humbling to be named a Facility Champion,” Bracken says. “I enjoy what I do and it is an honor that someone decided to nominate me.”
Like other facility professionals, Bracken knows the struggles of risings costs and decreasing workers, citing it as one of her main challenges. To help combat this, Bracken uses modern equipment that offer energy saving solutions. In addition, she is currently working with the college’s electrical supplier to become part of the state solar network. She also tries to use existing budgets to maintain facilities, cutting unnecessary or wasteful items.
This all came to a head when Hurricane Sally struck the Florida panhandle in 2020, causing nearly $23 million of destruction at Pensacola State College. Bracken was among the first people on site, immediately starting a recovery effort. Over the course of several months she met with multiple teams on a daily basis to clean debris, clear water from buildings, evaluate damage and restore systems. Bracken was regularly communicating with all levels within the college’s system to alert people on what to expect. In the midst of the recovery efforts, she also found time to send supplies to other colleges that were impacted by the storm. Nearly two years later, the college was able to fully recover in large part to her tireless efforts.
“If you work hard and enjoy what you do, not much can stop you,” Bracken says.
With already accomplishing so much in her career, Bracken continues to have an open-door policy and is constantly searching for the right answer to solutions. She takes the time to go out in the field to check the work and also maintains good working relationships with both faculty and staff. Her last goal, though, is to continue to provide a beautiful and functional educational space for students for years to come.
Bracken is the fifth of the eight 2025 Facility Champions who will be profiled on FacilitiesNet leading up to the webcast, “FM Innovation and Evolution: A Facility Champions Discussion” that will honor the recipients. The webcast will air on November 6 at 1 p.m. ET on FacilitiesNet. You can register to view the webcast here.
Mackenna Moralez is the associate editor of the facilities market and the host of the Facilities in Focus podcast.
