Policy Champion – San Diego Facilities Committee Co-Chairs

First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself: Where you work and how long you’ve been a committee co-chair.

Jason Moorhead: I am a Senior Vice President of Asset Services at Alexandria Real Estate Equities. I have been a committee co-chair since early 2017.

Laura Hale: I am an Environmental Health and Safety Manager at Veracyte Labs in San Diego, entering my 3rd year as a committee co-chair.

Jeana Renger: I am an Executive Vice President at Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects. I’ve been a committee co-chair for close to three years, since March 2022.

What led you to becoming a co-chair for the San Diego Facilities Committee? What is your role at your company that led to your involvement in this committee?

JM: I had been attending Biocom California Facilities and EH&S committee meetings for many years when Brent Jacobs, a long-time co-chair, retired and relinquished his seat, and I filled in. I’ve had roles in EH&S and Facilities, general laboratory and building operations.

LH: Strong encouragement from current members and the professional opportunity to grow as a leader. My activities in scientific operations led to my involvement in the committee.

JR: Andy Darragh, another Principal at Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, had served many years as a committee co-chair alongside Brent Jacobs. Andy shared informative anecdotes he learned from the committee meetings. I became interested in learning firsthand and when Andy stepped down as co-chair, I stepped in to represent from an architect’s point of view.

If a repeat co-chair, what keeps you coming back each year?

JM: I enjoy keeping up with regulations, industry trends and best practices.

LH: The amazingly collaborative team and the continued opportunity to guide best practices for facilities operations.

JR: I love staying informed on issues that affect our ability to provide architectural solutions for challenges faced by our life science clients. I like providing feedback on what topics might be of interest for life science facilities managers also.

What do you take away from the committee that you can take back to your company?

JM: Regulatory updates, code changes, contact information for new city and county officials, general industry best practices and most important, input from lab users on what their current needs and interests are.

LH: I was new to facilities operations when I started attending the committee meetings. As a research scientist in a rapidly growing start-up suddenly tasked with managing facilities, I sought outside resources to help address common challenges. Committee meetings were a great forum to ask more experienced managers how they had addressed the same challenges. My participation in the committee helped me rapidly develop a framework for operations that reflected current best practices.

JR: Information regarding action affecting city planning and future development.

How does this committee help to keep you and other committee members up to date, connected and/or engaged in issues related to Facilities/EHS?

JM: Melanie and co-chairs bring relevant interesting information to each meeting.

LH: Melanie Cohn, the committee lead, does an excellent job selecting speakers that are relevant to current Facilities/EHS issues. The committees conduct annual surveys to determine future topics. Finally, as co-chairs representing different backgrounds – biotech tenant, real estate/developer and architect – we suggest topics from our experiences that offer varied perspectives on facilities operations.

JR: The panelists invited to present to the committee allow members to connect and engage with policy makers.

What is one policy/project you worked on with this committee that you’re particularly proud of?

JM: The University Community Plan Update, which will benefit the life science industry with new zoning regulations and entitlements for the UTC / Torrey Pines areas.

LH: When the Biocom California team was advocating for the North County Transit District to maintain shuttle services from the Sorrento Valley COASTER stop to surrounding neighborhoods, I was very excited to work within my company to help advocate for the continuation of service. I look forward to becoming more involved in future transportation projects.

Learn more about our San Diego Facilities Committee here.

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