“More women are entering the trades at higher rates than ever before and are sustaining more longevity within their careers."

After the market crash of 2008, Local 28 journeyperson Kandice Rogers traded in her plans to be an architect for a career in HVAC construction.

Jennifer Fox Mann is a third generation sheet metal worker. “That means that my grandfather and father paved the way for me.”

As your brother, former Duro Dyne CEO and Chairman Randy Hinden, readied his path to retirement over the last two years, you took on a more active role in the company. 

When you stepped into your role as president and CEO of NB Handy four years ago, did you already have experience with the inner workings of the HVAC industry?  

The only woman inducted into the TABB Hall of Fame, Mary Coffey was a trailblazer out of necessity. The rest is her-story.

The co-founder of Women in HVACR – The Foundation reflects on the changing landscape for women in the skilled trades. 

With demand for skilled labor projected to reach an all-time high the next decade, the future of the male-dominated building trades rests on the industry’s efforts to roll out the welcome mat for another generation and gender. A new research project, seeking to understand how women thrive in the skilled trades, may pave the way for more people to call the sheet metal industry home.

After a conversation at the 2002 AHR Expo, Ruth King and Gwen Hoskins established Women in HVACR with one simple mission: women supporting women. “This conversation between two women was the catalyst for the organization,” explains Karen Lamy DeSousa, Women in HVACR’s 2020 president. 

Angie Simon made history last year when she became the first female president to lead the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association’s (SMACNA) board of directors.