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Professional development remains a cornerstone of success within George Mason University's Facilities & Campus Operations (F&CO), empowering employees to expand their expertise, strengthen leadership skills, and stay at the forefront of industry innovation. Through ongoing learning opportunities and engagement with professional organizations, F&CO employees are encouraged to build their professional portfolios while contributing to the advancement of the facilities management profession. 

That commitment to professional growth is reflected in the recent appointments of two F&CO leaders to prominent industry boards. Brian Gilligan, Director of Facilities Maintenance & Operations, and Mike Lay, Assistant Director of Facilities Services, have each been selected to serve in leadership roles with organizations that help shape the future of facilities management and the built environment. 

Gilligan Selected to ASHRAE Standards Committee 

Gilligan was selected as a voting member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), an international organization dedicated to advancing building systems, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, refrigeration, and sustainability. Through research, education, and the development of industry standards, ASHRAE plays a critical role in shaping the future of the built environment worldwide. 

“This grew out of my work in federal high-performance buildings and health in buildings research at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA),” said Gilligan. “I worked a lot with industry standard setting bodies like ASHRAE and building rating systems like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Through them, I was able to build professional networks to help develop best practices at GSA, and those networks connect me with opportunities like the new committee.” 

In his new role, Gilligan will serve on a committee responsible for developing a new standard focused on maintaining excellent indoor environmental quality in both new and existing buildings. The committee's work will address how factors such as temperature control, lighting, acoustics, and connections to nature interact with and affect building occupants. 

“Buildings are fundamentally about the people inside them. When we improve air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics, we aren't just meeting code, we are enhancing the environments that we live and work in,” said Gilligan. “Design standards are often about avoiding harm, but they could be more than that. I think they should be about enhancing health so that people are better off for having been in our buildings.” 

Lay Appointed to VAPPA Board of Directors 

While Gilligan's appointment will help shape national industry standards, Lay's new role focuses on strengthening professional development and collaboration throughout Virginia's educational facilities community. 

Lay has been appointed to the Virginia Chapter of APPA (VAPPA) Board of Directors as Vice President for Conferences. In this position, he will help plan and support future VAPPA events, creating opportunities for networking, training, and professional growth among educational facilities professionals. 

Lay's involvement with APPA began as a participant seeking resources to support employee training during the COVID 19 pandemic. 

“I was first introduced to APPA when researching their Operational Guidelines related to Maintenance, Grounds, and Custodial work to support training from home for Facilities Management employees during the COVID shutdown,” said Lay. “This in turn led me to expand my own knowledge of facilities through the Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP) program coursework, classes, and exam to become certified, which I completed in March of 2023.” 

VAPPA is a volunteer nonprofit network of facilities management professionals serving the educational sector. The organization promotes training, networking, and career development resources that support excellence in educational facilities. 

“After certification and attending several other APPA events, I wanted to do more to support the greater mission,” said Lay. “The VAPPA events were primarily attended by Virginia state schools, where I felt I could make a difference and grow a network of professionals.” 

Advancing the Profession and Supporting George Mason 

The appointments not only represent personal achievements for Gilligan and Lay, but also strengthen George Mason University's presence within organizations that influence the future of facilities management. 

“This is an opportunity for me to help shape things at a very foundational level,” said Gilligan. “It also means that GMU's F&CO organization will have a voice when it comes to things that will directly impact how we will design and operate our buildings on campus.” 

Lay emphasized the value of professional development opportunities available to F&CO employees and encouraged colleagues to take advantage of them. 

“While my 35 years in the military as an engineer supported my general knowledge of facilities operations, going through the training and certification to become APPA CEFP qualified helped me bridge my military experience with business administration. I definitely encourage all F&CO employees to become more active in APPA or VAPPA. All F&CO employees can become members just by registering through their George Mason University account,” said Lay. 

As Gilligan and Lay begin these new leadership roles, their accomplishments highlight the many professional development pathways available to George Mason employees. Their appointments reinforce F&CO's ongoing commitment to fostering lifelong learning, supporting career growth, and building a workforce equipped to create and maintain sustainable, safe, and high performing campus environments for years to come. 

Before

After

After years of collaborative development, two new Living Lab spaces have been completed for the Residence Hall and the Academic Teaching Gardens at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC)! The project was developed and coordinated with our Facilities & Campus Operations (F&CO) Facilities Management (FM) Grounds team, SMSC faculty, and our contract partner Brightview.

“The creation of the new spaces marks a significant step in enhancing the landscape elements and student experience on the SMSC campus,” Erich Miller, F&CO Grounds Program Manager and horticulturist. “Great care, forethought, and consideration were taken with relation to the use of native plant species, sustainable practices, and the creation of Living Lab spaces for current and future students and visitors.”

In addition to reviving the landscapes for aesthetics, over 20 different species of native plants are expected to bloom from early spring through the fall, providing a habitat for pollinators such as birds, butterflies and bees. The new plantings will also be involved in research conducted by high school and undergrad students.

“Partnering with GMU Facilities and the SMSC faculty, we thoughtfully selected every species in the teaching garden to align with and enhance their curriculum,” said Katarina Morgan, Account Manager, BrightView Landscape Services. “Growing our partnership with [George Mason] SMSC has been incredibly rewarding. Working together to create lasting and meaningful landscapes for students, faculty and future visitors is something we take great pride in. We’re excited to continue enhancing the campus with thoughtful and sustainable design.”

The installation was completed on October 2, 2025.