How Observation, Humility, and Coaching Create Better Facility Leaders with Maria Ruiz of UNICEF USA

How Observation, Humility, and Coaching Create Better Facility Leaders with Maria Ruiz of UNICEF USA

What does it take to lead people through uncertainty, change, and constant operational demands? In this episode of Facility Rockstars, Jay Culbert sits down with Maria Ruiz, Facilities and Operations Manager at UNICEF USA, to discuss the leadership lessons she's learned across healthcare, nonprofit, and corporate environments. Maria shares why learning not to take things personally transformed her leadership approach, how succession planning extends far beyond retirement, and why empathy, mentorship, and continuous improvement are critical for building resilient teams. From managing difficult personnel decisions to creating trust through daily check-ins, Maria offers practical insights for facilities professionals looking to become stronger leaders while supporting the people around them.   Takeaways: * Don't take challenges personally. Pause, seek context, and focus on what the situation can teach you. Maria emphasized that some of her biggest leadership growth came from learning to step back before reacting. By seeking to understand the circumstances, perspectives, and motivations behind a situation, leaders can turn setbacks and difficult conversations into valuable learning opportunities. * Succession planning should account for retirements, leaves of absence, injuries, and unexpected organizational changes. Too often, succession planning is viewed only through the lens of retirement, but Maria highlighted the importance of preparing for any scenario that could create a gap in leadership or operational knowledge. Building processes, documentation, and cross-training into everyday operations helps teams remain resilient when unexpected changes occur. * Observation is a critical leadership skill. Some of the most important processes are often undocumented and learned through listening and watching. Maria shared how paying attention to behaviors, workflows, and unspoken routines helped her understand organizations more effectively than any manual could. Leaders who take the time to observe their environment often uncover opportunities for improvement that others overlook. * Knowledge sharing is essential. Information that stays with one person creates risk for the entire organization. Encouraging team members to document processes, communicate insights, and share expertise helps create a stronger and more adaptable team. When knowledge is openly shared, organizations are better prepared to navigate turnover, growth, and unexpected challenges. * Regular personal check-ins build trust, strengthen culture, and help teams feel supported. Maria believes that effective leaders check in on people, not just projects. Simple conversations that focus on an employee's well-being can create stronger relationships, improve engagement, and foster a culture where team members feel valued and supported. * Great leaders invest in coaching, mentorship, and continuous learning to identify blind spots and improve their effectiveness. Maria spoke about the value of having mentors and professional coaches who can offer an outside perspective. By remaining open to feedback and guidance, leaders can continue growing, challenge their own assumptions, and become more effective in supporting their teams. * Continuous improvement is a daily practice that starts with asking questions, challenging assumptions, and staying curious. Rather than treating improvement as an occasional initiative, Maria views it as an ongoing mindset. Consistently asking "why," seeking root causes, and looking for better ways to work helps organizations become more efficient, adaptable, and prepared for future challenges. Quote of the Show: *  "We're behind the scenes, but always on the front lines, and the front lines are tough." Links: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaruiz814/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaruiz814/]  * Website: https://www.unicefusa.org/ [https://www.unicefusa.org/]  * The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker: https://a.co/d/0j0d9AoN [https://a.co/d/0j0d9AoN]  * Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin: https://a.co/d/07a90UL9 [https://a.co/d/07a90UL9]

Building the Plane While Flying It: Nick Petrosino on Growth, Accountability, and the Future of FM

In this episode, Nick Petrosino, Corporate Facilities Manager at Milton CAT, shares his winding path from Bridgewater State University to Massachusetts Maritime Academy to managing over a million square feet across six states. Nick opens up about the self-awareness it took to recognize he needed a different environment to thrive, and how Mass Maritime gave him the discipline and focus to launch a career he's now spent nearly a decade building with the same company. His story is one of calculated risk, intentional growth, and the kind of quiet drive that keeps buildings running before anyone notices a problem. The conversation dives deep into the operational realities of managing a large, multi-location facilities team — from growing his department from three to eight people, to navigating vendor accountability, CMMS implementation, and the constant balancing act of day-to-day demands versus long-term strategy. Nick is candid about the challenges of training new staff, managing complexity, and why soft skills will always outlast technical knowledge. He also shares his passion for giving back to the next generation of FM professionals through his work with AFE's Young Professionals Committee, making a compelling case that future-proofing the industry starts now.   Takeaways: * Doing your job well keeps you employed — going beyond your role is what advances your career. Clocking in and doing the bare minimum might keep you on the payroll, but taking initiative, creating value, and growing outside your defined role is what separates people who climb from people who stagnate. * Soft skills are ten times more valuable than hard skills. Hard skills can be taught; communication, conflict management, and the ability to network and present yourself are far harder to develop and far more impactful in the long run. * Vendor accountability starts with clear expectations up front. When scope, response times, quality standards, and communication expectations aren't defined clearly from the start, everyone interprets the agreement differently when problems arise — and they always do. * Facilities teams that stay stretched thin leave performance gaps. Growing the team intentionally — as Nick did by adding regional facility managers and coordinators — reduces response times, builds closer relationships with local stakeholders, and allows leadership to operate strategically rather than reactively. * A CMMS only creates value if people actually use it. Technology doesn't fix broken processes — it amplifies them. Before selecting a platform, map out the pain you're actually trying to solve, test real use cases, and prioritize adoption over feature count. * Generic training only goes so far — situational judgment comes from experience. You can teach a work order system, but you can't easily teach when to escalate, when to push back, or how to prioritize competing demands. Building that judgment takes time, mentorship, and real-world repetition. * The FM industry is one retirement cycle away from a leadership gap. Engaging and retaining young professionals isn't just good practice — it's a necessity. If the industry doesn't invest in the next generation now, institutional knowledge walks out the door and leadership roles go unfilled. Quote of the Show: * "Doing your job well keeps you employed. But taking initiative, creating value, getting outside your comfort zone, and growing beyond your role is what really advances your career." Links: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-petrosino-cpmm-473b89a6/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-petrosino-cpmm-473b89a6/]  * Website: https://www.miltoncat.com/ [https://www.miltoncat.com/]

Live from VPPPA: Contractor Safety, HOP, and Culture Change in Action

Recorded live at the 2026 VPPPA Region I Annual Conference & Exhibition in Portland, Maine, this special panel episode of Facility Rockstars brings together three leaders from Collins Aerospace's Windsor Locks facility, Matt Twardy (EHS), Jeff Houle (Facilities, RTX), and John Mullen (Fuss & O'Neill Manufacturing Solutions), for a compelling, real-world conversation on Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) philosophy. Host Jay Culbert emcees the discussion, which centers on five core HOP principles: people make mistakes, blame fixes nothing, context drives behavior, learning enables improvement, and, perhaps most critically, leadership response matters. The panel uses vivid, unfiltered stories from the plant floor to illustrate how shifting from a blame-and-punish culture to a learning mindset changes everything, from how teams communicate near misses to how contractors show up for conversations they used to avoid. The conversation goes far beyond theory. Panelists share first-hand experiences, from a fired electrician whose termination exposed a broken system, to a plant-wide blackout at 2 a.m. handled with remarkable calm, to a trenching job that uncovered decades-old underground conduit and called for a tactical pause and new technology. Audience members also share their own turning-point moments, reinforcing the message that psychological safety isn't a program, it's a philosophy, and it has to start with the leader in the room. Whether you're in EHS, facilities, or operations, this episode is a masterclass in how the right response at the right moment can change an entire culture.   Takeaways: * Leadership response is the most powerful culture tool you have. When leaders respond negatively to problems, teams get better at hiding them. When leaders respond with curiosity and calm, teams get better at surfacing them. The tone you set in the first five minutes of a critical conversation echoes for years. * Replace "investigation" with "learning review." The language you use signals your intent before you say another word. Framing post-incident conversations as learning exercises—not investigations—opens the door to honest, useful information that actually improves your systems. * Understand the gap between "work as imagined" and "work as done." Plans look clean on paper. Reality in the field is always more complicated. The goal isn't to eliminate adaptation—it's to understand it so you can build more resilient systems that help workers fail safely when things go sideways. * Context is everything before you draw a conclusion. Before assuming a rule was broken, ask why. In multiple examples from this episode, workers who appeared to have violated safety protocols had actually done everything they were trained to do. The system failed them—and pausing to get context made all the difference. * Psychological safety isn't built in a meeting—it's built in moments. Every time a leader chooses learning over blame, they make it slightly easier for the next person to raise their hand. One audience member described how a single calm response to a lockout-tagout incident became the catalyst that transformed reporting culture at an entire facility. * Apply "tactical pause" instead of "stop work." The language matters. "Stop work" carries political weight that can shut people down. A tactical pause reframes the moment as collaborative problem-solving—and keeps the team focused on solutions rather than defensiveness. * Invest in contractor relationships before the job starts. When contractors trust that they won't be blamed for raising issues, they stop hiding problems and start asking for help. Building that relationship upfront—through honest pre-job conversations and quarterly stand-downs—pays off in safer, smoother projects every time. Quote of the Show: *  "There's a small percentage of the population that will willfully do something wrong. You cannot go into any event thinking the employee did something willful. Flip the script—pretend your absolute best rockstar caused it. It changes your mindset and approach with everything." — Jeff Houle Links: * John Mullen  * Email: John.MullenJr@collins.com [John.MullenJr@collins.com]  * Jeffrey Houle * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-houle-4b56bb35/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-houle-4b56bb35/]  * Email: jeff.houle07@gmail.com [jeff.houle07@gmail.com]  * Matt Twerdy * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-twerdy-mba-csp-chmm-9661132a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-twerdy-mba-csp-chmm-9661132a/]   * Email: Matthew.Twerdy@collins.com [Matthew.Twerdy@collins.com]  * VPPPA Region I Website: https://vppregion1.com/ [https://vppregion1.com/]

Stay Curious, Stay Useful: Tim Reynolds on Learning, Leading, and the Facilities Life

In this episode, Jay Culbert sits down with Tim Reynolds, a facilities manager at a growing manufacturing business who has built one of the more unconventional careers in the industry. Tim's background spans painting, computer information sciences, a bachelor's in classics and political science, special education teaching (including a master's degree and administrative licensure), and ultimately a full return to the trades. Now managing 52,000 square feet solo as both facilities manager and EHS officer, Tim brings a grounded, curious, and self-aware perspective to everything he does. At the core of his philosophy is something deceptively simple: keep asking questions, actually listen to the answers, and never stop learning. From sourcing vendors through word of mouth to navigating safety in a machine shop environment, Tim covers real challenges with refreshing honesty. He also gives listeners a peek behind the curtain at some of his personal passions, including hand-carved wooden spoons and a Viking shield maiden costume he made for his dog. Takeaways: * Lifelong learning is a practice, not a personality type. Tim credits a genuine curiosity about how things work and why people do what they do as the engine behind his career. Whether it's a textbook, a YouTube video, a 20-year-old equipment manual he found on Google, or just a conversation with someone next to him, learning is always on the table. * Ask for help — and mean it. Tim returns to this idea multiple times throughout the conversation. In facilities, there's never enough time in the day. Asking for help when you need it isn't a weakness; it's one of the most practical tools available. Most people are genuinely willing to assist if you're willing to ask. * Face-to-face communication beats everything else. Tim uses email where it fits, but when something needs to be resolved, he walks directly to the person. Clarity, tone, and relationship all improve when you show up in person. * Word of mouth is the best vendor sourcing tool you're not paying for. Tim inherited an outdated vendor list when he took his current role and has had to build parts of his network from scratch. His method: ask other vendors for referrals, lean on trusted relationships, and keep looking until you find the right fit. * Safety requires designing for inattention. As EHS officer, Tim knows that people focused on getting work done aren't always thinking about safety in the moment. The job is to build systems and environments that protect people even when their attention is elsewhere. A personal injury early in his career, cutting a tendon in his thumb with a putty knife, drives this point home. * Saying yes first is often the right move. Tim's career has been defined in part by accepting opportunities before he knew exactly how to execute them. His approach: say yes, then figure it out. He notes that at this point in his career, the only regrets he carries are the times he didn't say yes. * The diversity of your background is an asset. Tim's path through painting, tech, the classics, special education, and now facilities management might look scattered from the outside. But each chapter gave him something: patience, communication skills, problem-solving instincts, and technical knowledge, which make him better at his job today. Quote of the Show: *  "Ask. Ask. And then more importantly, and I think this is the thing a lot of people forget, listen." Links: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-reynolds-99905b13b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-reynolds-99905b13b/] * IFMA Boston https://ifmaboston.org/ [https://ifmaboston.org/]

Stay Current, Stay Honest: Colby Fillippelli on the Art of Facilities Leadership

In this episode, Jay Culbert sits down with Colby Fillippelli, Senior Vice President of Facilities at JLL and incoming President of the Boston chapter of IFMA. Colby brings over 25 years of facilities management experience, having led operations for major organizations including Dunkin' Brands, Hasbro, and Novartis. Throughout the conversation, Colby shares how his career evolved from an HVAC technician responding to work orders to a seasoned executive overseeing national real estate portfolios, and what he learned along the way. At the heart of his philosophy is a simple but powerful belief: facilities is a people business that just happens to involve buildings. From handling a middle-of-the-night fire at a client site while snowboarding at Loon Mountain to using metrics to shift his team from reactive to proactive, Colby offers hard-won insight into what it really takes to thrive in this industry. He emphasizes the power of consistent communication, the importance of staying current, and why paying it forward to the next generation of facilities professionals is one of his greatest priorities. His energy, honesty, and no-nonsense approach make for a conversation that is equal parts practical and inspiring.   Takeaways: * Be honest and ask questions constantly. Admitting what you don't know and asking for help isn't weakness — it's how you grow. The most effective facilities professionals don't fake it; they ask, learn, and communicate openly at every stage of their career. * Shift from reactive to proactive using metrics. Tracking patterns in your work orders and recurring issues isn't just good practice — it drives cost savings, reduces risk, and transforms how your team operates. If you're not measuring it, you can't improve it. * Communicate early, even without all the answers. Don't wait until you have perfect information to update your team or clients. Timely, honest communication — especially during a crisis — builds credibility and keeps everyone moving in the right direction. * Your vendor relationships are your lifeline. Know your vendors personally before you sign a contract. When something goes wrong at 10 PM, those relationships are what keep operations from falling apart. Invest in them the same way you invest in your team. * Know when to defer maintenance — and when you absolutely can't. Deferring critical infrastructure like HVAC PMs, arc flash updates, or major MEP work is a risk not worth taking. A seasoned facilities leader knows how to make the case for doing it right the first time. * Pay it forward to the next generation. The industry is losing decades of institutional knowledge as Baby Boomers retire. Those with experience have a responsibility to mentor, educate, and actively invest in emerging professionals — both inside their organizations and through groups like IFMA. * Mindset and attitude are as important as technical skills. Showing up with energy, professionalism, and a team-first mentality isn't optional — it's what makes everything else work. As Colby puts it: you're not curing cancer, so bring some levity to the work. Quote of the Show: *  "Follow-through matters more than intent, and your reputation compounds over time." Links: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colby-fillippelli-cfm-8591097/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colby-fillippelli-cfm-8591097/]  * Company Website: https://www.jll.com/en-us/ [https://www.jll.com/en-us/]  * IFMA Boston Website: https://ifmaboston.org/ [https://ifmaboston.org/]