Women in HVACR - Experts & Thought Leaders

Women in HVACR, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration trades, has announced its new 2025 sponsorship levels. This will bring more value to contractor members and allow them to support women in the trades. Supporting Tradeswomen “After listening to feedback from our members, we are taking the opportunity to revamp our sponsorships to add more value for our contractors,” said Women in HVACR President Kristin Gallup. “It’s important that we improve our communication with our members, and these new sponsorship options will allow us to more effectively stay in touch with our members to let them know how their sponsorships are helping women in the skilled trades industry.” Networking & Support These sponsorships enhance the industry workforce through education, mentoring and networking opportunities that support and empower women currently in the HVACR industry. Women in HVACR provides a sponsor’s female employees with opportunities to advance personally and professionally and boosts the sponsor’s profile in the HVACR industry. Engagement Levels Sponsorship levels include: Inspiration Champion Empowerment Visionary Luminary Guardian The expanded benefits include a unique sponsor logo from Women in HVACR that can be posted to the sponsor’s website and on social media, tickets to the Women in HVACR conference, preferential booth placement at the conference, and expanded mentorship prospects. Empower Tradeswomen Companies can become an endowment fund sponsor by purchasing an Angel sponsorship. The Angel sponsorship starts at $1,000, but those who want to support the program can donate as much as they like. These endowments go to sponsor scholarships and fund initiatives created by Women in HVACR to help women succeed in the trades. Empowering Women HVACR “We are often asked by company owners about some of the best ways to recruit, hire and retain women in the trades,” Gallup said. “One of the best ways to do that is to sponsor organizations like Women in HVACR. These scholarships and endowments not only create scholarships, they also help us offer mentorship programs and provide ongoing educational programs for our members.” Exclusive Opportunities Other benefits can include opportunities to showcase a sponsor’s thought leadership and dedication to diversity with a speaking opportunity at the AHR Expo in Las Vegas on Feb. 4-6, 2026, webinar collaborations, recognition during a monthly membership call and in a magazine ad in Women in HVACR’s new magazine, Elevate, and an interview on a Women in HVACR partner’s industry podcast.

Women in HVACR (WHVACR), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration trades, announced it has elected its new board of directors for 2025. The complete board is made up of the executive board and a broader board of directors. These members work collaboratively to guide the organization’s direction, oversee financial management and ensure legal and ethical integrity. New talent and leadership “This board is made up of some of the most experienced and capable women in the skilled trades industry, and I can’t wait to work with them to improve the lives of other women who work in the trades,” said Amy O’Grady, executive director of Women in HVACR. “This team’s experiences and backgrounds will help our members improve their lives by providing them with the education, networking opportunities and mentoring programs they need to be successful. The executive board is structured to allow tenured board members to advise and lead so that we continually bring in new talent and leadership.” Prior roles of Gallup  Gallup served as the board’s VP in 2024, and has been named as the president of the executive board Kristin Gallup, who served as the board’s vice president in 2024, has been named as the president of the executive board. She is the director of product management parts and supplies for Carrier Enterprise, a joint venture between Watsco, Inc. and Carrier Corporation. She has worked in the HVAC industry for more than 17 years in various sales, marketing and product capacities and has been a member of WHVACR for more than 10 years. Prior roles of Sidebottom  Jane Sidebottom has been selected to serve as the executive board’s vice president for 2025. She served on the WHVACR board of directors last year and is the president and founder of AMK, LLC, a strategic growth and management consulting company that works with manufacturers, distributors, and service companies to grow their businesses. Sidebottom founded AMK in 2007 to fill a gap for market growth expertise in the skilled trades and their manufacturing and service partners. She has 7 years of private and non-profit board experience. Other executive board members Lori Tschohl, immediate past president: Tschohl is president of Eagle Pipe & Mechanical in Port Ludlow, Washington. Angela Miller, treasurer: Miller is the brand ambassador for Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing in Las Vegas. Crystal Williams, secretary: Williams is the founder and marketing strategist for Lemon Seed Marketing in Burke, Texas. The rest of the new board of directors includes: Laurelyn Arriaga, OME sales manager for McDaniel Metals, Inc. in Houston, Texas. Kelcey Brueggeman, executive vice president of business development and sales for Service Business Evolution, LLC in Phoenix. Melanie Cochran, vice president of Hawkins HVAC Distributors in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sarah Hammond, president of Atlas Services, Inc. in McAllen, Texas. Becky Hoelscher, senior account manager for Arkema in Sidney, Ohio. Lisa Knapp, president and founder of the Sea of Possibility Leaders Consulting, Inc. in Juno Beach, Florida. Christyn Mueller, associate director for Global Learning & Development in Muskego, Wisconsin. Linda Rodriguez, marketing and events manager for Quietflex in Houston.

Women in HVACR (WHVACR), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration trades, announced a $100,000 donation from Synchrony Bank at their Women in HVACR Conference in October 2024. With the generous donation, the total endowment fund contributions reached $150,000 in 2024. With a goal of reaching $1 million to provide six scholarships to women in perpetuity, the fund was created to ease the cost of education for women seeking careers in the HVACR industry. Synchrony Bank’s contribution "Education is expensive, and we understand that," said Lori Tschohl, President of Women in HVACR, adding "The scholarship fund is at the heart of what Women in HVACR stands for. Synchrony Bank’s contribution, in addition to the other donations, takes us one step closer to reaching our goal. HVACR is such a rewarding industry, and these supporters help provide women with the education and resources necessary for success." Created in 2022 by Ruth King, Founder of Women in HVACR, the endowment fund has received donations totaling $122,000 in 2022 and $65,000 in 2023. Synchrony's commitment "By investing in scholarships for women in trades like HVACR, we're not only supporting individual career growth, but also strengthening the industry as a whole," said Curtis Howse, Executive Vice President and CEO, Home & Auto, Synchrony, adding "Our partnership with Women in HVACR aligns with Synchrony's commitment to expanding access to education and supporting diversity in trade industries." Women in HVACR accepts applications for scholarships through June 1 each year. Recipients are announced in September.

There is an enormous labor shortage in the skilled trades, and women have stepped up to assume many positions beyond office work alone. Throughout the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) industry, women are proving to be excellent technicians, service managers, sales people, marketers and more. Networking, mentoring, and education The increasing role of women in the HVACR industry is reflected in the rapid growth of Women in HVACR, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of its members by empowering women to succeed through networking, mentoring, and education. With a massive labor shortage, women make up a large untapped resource for a potential workforce to fill jobs Approximately 53% of the current skilled-trade workforce is 45 years or older. Estimates say that by 2022, 115,000 new jobs will be available. Currently only 4% of HVACR industry jobs are held by women, with only 1% of field technician jobs held by women. With a massive labor shortage, women make up a large untapped resource for a potential workforce to fill jobs. Members from virtually every sector of the HVACR field “Our organization has snowballed in growth, year over year, providing new avenues for networking, partnerships, collaboration and personal development,” says Danielle Putnam, 2019 Women in HVACR President. “For women excited about growing their careers in the HVACR industry, this organization supports each other and is unashamed to show vulnerability so we can better connect with each other to support and help.” The first international organization for women in the industry, Women in HVACR has 447 current members from virtually every sector of the HVACR field from technicians to contractors, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers and more, at every level. The organization offers free student memberships as well. There are currently 79 participants in the mentorship program, and the Ambassador Program in 2019 has seven Ambassadors Mentorship programs Member benefits include scholarship opportunities, mentorship programs, a member-only online directory by state, and bi-weekly Zoom video conference calls. Additional benefits include regular updates on Facebook and LinkedIn, an annual conference, and quarterly newsletters. Members can serve as an ambassador for WHVACR and can participate in member-only discussions through HVAC-Talk (a knowledge sharing website), Service Roundtable (a site sharing contractor tips), and HARDI (an organization of distributors). The organization has awarded $19,000 in HVACR Scholarships since 2015. Sponsorship and membership have grown. There are currently 79 participants in the mentorship program, and the brand-new Ambassador Program in 2019 has seven Ambassadors and five scheduled events. Member Involvement “One of our key initiatives for 2019 is member involvement,” says Putnam. “We are focusing on this by setting strategic goals within each board committee to better engage our members. Women love to multi-task and get involved – it is our nature – so we want to make sure the communication channels are open wide and everyone clearly understands how vital they are to the networking, education and mentoring within our organization.” “Women in HVACR is a name that so many want to get behind and support, get involved and be a part of something,” says Putnam. “Member involvement is huge.” Given the interest generated during the panel discussion, Ruth King applied for status as a non-profit organization under the name Women in HVACR Women in HVACR The organization’s growth comes from humble beginnings. In 2002 during the AHR Expo in Chicago, Ruth King and Gwen Hoskins began a discussion about the increased number of women joining the HVACR industry and the need for a way to share knowledge and experience through networking while encouraging and supporting one another. This conversation between two women was the catalyst for the organization. From this simple discussion, a panel discussion was hosted by Comfortech entitled: Women in The Industry during the 2003 conference held in Dallas in conjunction with the Contracting Business Woman of the Year breakfast. The panel consisted of four women within the HVACR industry and was attended by approximately 40 people. From there, given the interest generated during the panel discussion, by the end of the year Ruth King had applied for status as a non-profit organization under the name Women in HVACR. As so it began. Advice To Women We have many male members, and even one male Mentor in our Mentorship program"Currently there are 70 or so sponsors of the organization at various levels. Top-tier Diamond Sponsors are PROPARTS HVAC Parts and Supplies, Ingersoll Rand, Trane, American Standard, York, Johnson Controls, Allied Air Enterprises, Magi-Pak, COSCO and Armstrong Air. One misconception about the Women in HVACR organization is that it is a women-only group. “Though we are a group whose mission is to support women in the HVACR industry, there is no requirement that you be a woman to fulfill this role,” says Karen DeSousa, Women in HVACR Vice President. “We have many male members, and even one male Mentor in our Mentorship program.” What’s the organization’s advice to women entering the HVACR field? “Don’t give up!” says DeSousa. “Though you will experience setbacks and hurdles in many forms, this industry is worth the long hours, sometimes difficult working conditions, endless need for continuing education and more.”