FACILITY PROFESSIONAL SPOTHLIGHT
GINA CARTER
How did you get into FM/ Accidental FM?
I was a former Executive Assistant in the entertainment industry and got tapped to help with some office and personnel moves. I enjoyed doing that so much that I continually asked for more work in this realm whether it was helping janitorial to get or keep a space clean. working with building maintenance to address break/fix issues or whatever, pretty soon I evolved into an office manager type role (while still retaining my EA reigns) where I was coordinating movement and issues on the entire floor my team of 250 and that’s when I realized I wanted to make a change and be more “hands on” with my work and also to be more hospitality focused with employees by way of their perception of the look and feel of a work environment while in office. It helps that I’m a bit of a handy gal and am not afraid to get my hands dirty in efforts to try and solve a problem.
One off weird experience in the industry
I worked in a building for 3 years that was most likely haunted. It was over 100 years old. I’m a skeptic in this regard but this building did give me pause. I would later find out that a young woman had died in the building. Most folks thought they felt a tightness in their chest when they went into the basement level. After that area flooded, due to a plumbing error, we determined it had quite a bit of black mold so I’m pretty sure that’s where the chest tightness came from. As for who or what pushed a pile of papers off my desk mid-day on the 4th floor, I will never know.
A highlight of your Facility or Operation
My current employer is in the semiconductor business, and we are in a beautiful new building that reminds me of an airport hanger with its very, very tall ceilings. We have state-of-the-art cleanrooms and labs on site and the MEP rooms are incredible to walk through with all the equipment housed in there. More employees are joining us from our other smaller offices that are sunsetting so it’s nice to see the location fill up. The space is bright and open and although sometimes it’s not the best for acoustics (it does echo a bit) it is bright and well lit, which I love. The people I work with are incredibly friendly as well.
