Upon graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, I was eager to enter the workforce and make a meaningful contribution. During my senior year, I set my sights on Burns & McDonnell, an engineering firm headquartered in Kansas City, and I was thrilled to join its oil and gas group as an instrumentation and controls engineer. I was ready for a challenge, and my department manager, who was involved in the local International Society of Automation (ISA) Kansas City section, suggested I join to accelerate my learning. As a recent graduate, I had a theoretical understanding of process control, but practical skills like specifying instruments, writing control narratives or even reading P&IDs were new to me. Fortunately, my company supported ISA membership for active members, so I decided to seize the opportunity.

I began attending all the ISA Kansas City section meetings and was inspired to see some of my peers leading in a capacity outside of our work. After about a year of active participation, I was invited to become the membership chair for the section. I accepted the role, and through continued involvement in local meetings, I had the pleasure of meeting many incredible professionals in my area.

Following my term as membership chair, the incoming section president asked me to consider the role of secretary, which would begin the presidential succession for the Kansas City section. At the time, the progression was to move from secretary to treasurer, then to vice president and finally to president of the local section board.

While I was initially unsure if I was qualified, my passion for ISA and its impact at the section level motivated me. I was energized by the community and appreciated that, despite being new to the industry, ISA recognized my leadership potential. I accepted the position and became secretary at the start of the next ISA-KC term.

That same year, the society held its Fall Leader Meeting in Kansas City. I decided to attend, and it was a transformative experience. It was then that I truly understood the scale of ISA. While I was proud of our work at the section level, I had not realized I was part of a much larger, global community united by the same mission. I learned about ISA’s divisions and the Executive Board, and I was inspired by the breadth of the organization.

Inspired by that leader meeting, I continued my journey through the officer roles in the Kansas City section, eventually becoming president. But in parallel, I became more involved in the broader ISA society. I joined the Chemical and Petroleum Industry Division (ChemPID) and later had the honor of serving as its director for two years, succeeding the incredible Rhonda Pelton. I also contributed to the rollout of the Young Professionals group and the early days of ISA Connect Champions, eager to provide value wherever I could.

My desire to contribute at the highest level led me to reach out to the ISA president to learn more about the ISA Executive Board. This eventually opened the door to being selected as an at-large executive board member for a one-year term. Wanting to make a longer-term impact, I ran for, and was elected to, a three-year term on the Board afterward. Then, after four years of Board service, I took a brief hiatus…which lasted only a month before I decided to run for president-elect secretary. I was honored to be elected by ISA members, and now, I am humbled to be serving as your 2026 president.

Throughout my years of board service, I have always sought opportunities to learn and contribute. For example, I had never been involved in a standards committee, so I joined ISA112, the SCADA Systems committee, to align with my professional role and continue to give back. Overall, my career has grown in tandem with my involvement in ISA. I have since transitioned to a project manager role at Burns & McDonnell, where I lead automation projects with a team of exceptionally talented engineers. ISA has helped me through all my career transitions and has always aided in getting me up to speed however I needed.

ISA has been instrumental in my development as a leader too. It provided me with a platform to lead early in my career, connected me with invaluable mentors and expanded my professional network. I have grown both technically and professionally through my experiences with ISA, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. I cannot begin to thank the countless individuals who have impacted my journey (you know who you are). Thank you for investing in me, believing in me and welcoming me into this incredible community from day one.

As we begin 2026, I am excited for what is to come for ISA. I encourage you to share your own ISA story and the value this community brings. Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Taylor Moss, the current ISA Kansas City president, speak about ISA at a work meeting. He spoke with such enthusiasm and pride, highlighting the resources and upcoming events. Since that meeting, I have seen a noticeable increase in our colleagues joining ISA and inquiring about local section meetings. This is all because someone took the initiative to share their experience. This is exactly how I was introduced to ISA in 2012.

So, let’s not keep the benefits of ISA to ourselves. We don’t gatekeep here. Therefore, my challenge to you is to share the value of ISA with your peers today. You never know when you might be inviting a future ISA president to join our organization.