IFMA Boston names 2024-2026 Board of Directors
Boston, MA The Boston chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), has named the new slate of board of directors for the 2024-2026 term. The new board will become effective on July 1st, 2024.
President: Andrew DelPrete
The chapter president is the chief elected officer (CEO) and chairman of the board of directors. Andrew DelPrete is senior manager workplace operations at Liberty Mutual Insurance. DelPrete has been part of the Liberty Mutual team for 13 years and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the company’s corporate headquarters. Prior to Liberty, DelPrete built his foundation and leadership skills at P&G-Gillette. DelPrete has nearly two decades of career experience in leadership, facilities engineering, operations, project management, and capital construction. DelPrete has a B.S. in Facilities & Environmental Engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and MBA from Suffolk University.
President Elect: Colby Fillippelli
The president elect works closely with the president and is responsible for partnership. Fillippelli is the senior vice president of facilities at JLL. Fillippelli has over 23 years of experience in commercial real estate. He oversees JLL’s facilities operations for the New England region, managing several headquarter properties and leading a large team for JLL. Fillippelli ensures compliance, cost-effective project management, detailed financial management, metric creation/reporting, vendor contract management, SOPs, KPI/SLA mgmt., building policies, safety protocols and implementation of sustainable initiatives across 1.3 million s/f of office, R&D, lab, and life science space. He holds degrees in Audio Engineering/Live Sound Reproduction and Graphic Design from NEiA and a certification in Facilities Management from Boston University, maintaining his Certified Facility Manager designation for over 12 years.
Vice President of Finance: Ashley White
The VP of finance is the chief financial officer (CFO) and secretary of the chapter. With the assistance of the chapter management, the VP manages the budget, income and expenses and chapter governance. White has almost 15 years of experience in operations, corporate real estate, project, and facilities management including roles in the corporate, law, pharmaceutical, and higher education sectors. Currently, she’s a senior advisor at Cresa, providing workplace planning and support that aligns with organizational real estate strategies. She assists clients in managing their real estate portfolios with an emphasis on physical space, operations, facilities, furniture, vendor, and data management. White received her bachelor’s degree in Facilities Planning & Management from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2012 and has been a member of the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) Boston Chapter since 2010.
Vice President of Special Events: Adele Manty
The VP of special events oversees activities related to the IFMA Boston Spring and Fall Golf Classics, The Holiday Gala, and The Awards of Excellence as well as other special programming. Manty is presently a director of sales at Hungry Catering. She is in charge of sales, client relations, budget management and executions of sales activities as well as event planning and coordination. Manty has been in sales roles for the past 10 years, prior to working for Education First (EF) as a travel manager in charge of airline contract negotiations as well as allocation of flight space and managing budgets. She earned a bachelor of arts in Modern Languages and Literature at the University of Rome La Sapienza and she has been a member of the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) Boston Chapter since 2015.
Vice President of Partnership: Keara Gaffey
The VP of partnership oversees the Partnership Program from end to end ensuring that the current relationships are working for both IFMA Boston and our partners and that annual funding goals are met. With over 16 years of experience in the AEC industry, Gaffey joined Wise Construction in 2017 as an assistant project manager. Since joining the team, Gaffey has advanced to become a project manager and now holds the role of business development manager. Gaffey is an integral part of the Wise team, where she leverages her strong relationship-development skills to help build the company brand, cultivate new client relationships, foster existing partnerships, and organize and attend industry events, including the Wise Golf League. Prior to joining the company, Gaffey was a property manager, where she gained valuable experience and insight into what clients want to see in their spaces during all phases of preconstruction and construction. Gaffey is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts – Lowell, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology. She is also a member of PWC, WWIRE, CREW, IIDA, BOMA, IFMA, WIB, ISPE, and Massbio.
Vice President of Membership: Ray Theberge
The VP of membership promotes understanding of the IFMA Boston value proposition in order to grow membership and engagement. They represent IFMA Boston at all events to welcome new members and they promote IFMA Boston membership within the industry. They plan World Workplace and Facility Fusion events. Theberge is currently the vice president at HUB Office Installations overseeing new business development and project management services. Theberge has been in the contract interiors business for 40 years. After earning his undergraduate degree in Architectural Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Theberge continued his studies at Plymouth State University in business. Theberge first joined IFMA in 1985. After 20 years working for contract interior dealerships and manufacturers with roles in design, project management, facilities, information systems, and architectural demountable walls, he made the shift to building and managing skilled field labor companies to support the FF&E function for facilities managers. In addition, Theberge has worked part-time as faculty at Wentworth paying it forward and helping to shape the next generation of facilities managers and designers.
Vice President of Student Relations: Melodee Wagen
The VP of student relations focus is on facility management as a profession. They work with Skills USA to enable IFMA Boston and students to participate in Facilithon. They also work with local universities and high schools to promote the profession. Wagen is the director of operations and space planning for Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University. Prior to joining Khoury, Wagen ran a consulting practice providing real estate strategic planning, workspace evaluations and analysis, workplace flexibility programs, and change management. Her clients included Harvard University, John Hancock/Manulife, GSK, and the Greater Boston Food Bank, among others. Wagen has worked in several space planning roles in industry and higher education including positions at Griswold, Heckel and Kelly Associates, Sun Microsystems, and Harvard University. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Wentworth Institute of Technology and has held several leadership positions and speaker engagements with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). Wagen holds a Master of Corporate Real Estate Certification, a certificate in Workplace Strategy and Leadership, a certificate in Management Studies, and a bachelor of music and masters of music from Western Michigan University.
Vice President of Logistics: Sandra Gucciardi
The VP of logistics works with each of the programming committees (Think Tank, FMForward and Special Events) to bring their events to fruition through implementation. They handle the AV, site visits, catering, registration, etc. for all events as needed. Additionally, the logistics committee plans and executes the chapters Conversations Over Cocktails series of networking events. Over the course of her 25-year career as a strategic thinker Gucciardi has been responsible for client development initiatives in various verticals. Gucciardi has supported key clients and projects both in the New England region, and nationally. Her successful track record demonstrates her ability to develop and nurture strong lasting relationships with clients, business partners, and colleagues. Gucciardi recently co-founded Boston’s Real Estate Consortium, a multidisciplinary industry team continuing to conduct a knowledge share of current industry best practices and due diligence around workplace design and construction requirements in the post-COVID world. In addition to IFMA Boston, she is co-hub leader of the WE (Workplace Evolutionaries) Boston and also a member of BOMA, ISPE’s Women in Pharma, and serves as board of director for CoreNet New England. Gucciardi holds a bachelor of science in Business Management from Lesley University, and an Interior Design Technology degree from Seminole State College in Sanford, FL. She has a Massachusetts real estate license and is certified by Cornell University in Change Management.
Immediate Past President: Frank Rhodes II
The immediate past president stays on the board of directors for one term to work in a mentoring role to the board and the leadership team. They also work with the co-chairs of the Thought Leaders program and serve on the executive committee. With over 15 years of dedicated service within the hospitality sector, Frank Rhodes, II, CFM, has cultivated a deep-seated passion and expertise in engineering and facilities management. Currently serving as the area director of engineering and facilities at Marriott International, Rhodes heads operations across the Northeast region. He is responsible for the recruitment and professional growth of engineering and facilities specialists, ensuring a robust talent pipeline poised to meet the evolving needs of our dynamic industry. Rhodes received his B.S. in Facilities Management from Ferris State University as well as his A.S. in Architectural Engineering Technology/Technicians. In addition, Rhodes holds the designation of CFM.