March 8th is International Women’s Day 2026
Intro by Kerri Sinclair Editorial Board Chair of AutomatedBuildings
Building automation is a systems-of-systems industry. Value is created (or lost) at the interfaces between hardware and software, engineering and operations, data and decisions, capital and capability, and ultimately founders, successors, and buyers.
Complex sectors rarely fail because of a single technical issue. They fail when signals from different parts of the system aren’t connected early enough.
In complex industries, the people who notice the signals early often aren’t the loudest voices in the room. They are the ones connecting the dots.
That’s why International Women’s Day matters in a practical way.
Through my work across asset-heavy, regulated sectors, I’ve learned that pattern recognition improves when more perspectives are included. Not as a slogan, but as an operating advantage. Broaden the contributors, and you broaden what the industry can see.
This week, AutomatedBuildings.com is publishing pieces from women across the ecosystem, including engineering, leadership, strategy, and technology. These aren’t special features; they are practical, clear-eyed perspectives on how complex systems behave and what it takes to make them work.
I encourage you to study them as you would any well-designed building. They are not isolated components, but part of the operating system.
This year, we had great thought leadership from so many women in the industry, for example
Stephanie Poole, PEng, PMP, is a Contributing Editor at AutomatedBuildings.com and a regular presenter at our AHR education sessions., where she is recognized for her expertise as a Senior Decarbonization Engineer and Project Manager at SES Consulting. Her role as a contributor to the platform places her among industry voices discussing critical topics such as sustainability and energy efficiency in building management. You can connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn here.
Danielle Radden is a Contributing Editor at AutomatedBuildings.com, where she is described as an expert in the human side of technology adoption, dedicated to transforming building management and operations. As the Director of Growth at facil.ai, she drives the adoption of AI-driven solutions for industry professionals and also serves as the Executive Secretary for the Building Intelligence Group . Her work focuses on marketing, technology adoption, and creating clarity in the complex smart buildings space, and she is also the creator of the “Talking Walls Comic”. You can connect with Danielle on LinkedIn here.
Kelly Sinclair My new role as Thought Leadership Liaison for AutomatedBuildings.com is designed to bridge the gap between industry innovators and the community that needs to hear from them.
As the building automation industry grows more complex—balancing sustainability mandates, cybersecurity concerns, and ever-evolving technology—the ability to facilitate thoughtful dialogue between stakeholders with different viewpoints has never been more valuable. Women in our industry often find themselves naturally stepping into this liaison role, not as mediators sent to calm tensions, but as leaders who recognize that innovation lives in the space between perspectives. Whether translating technical requirements for financial decision-makers or bridging the gap between facilities teams and software developers, these conversations require a particular kind of patience and clarity. When we create room for balanced discussion, we don’t just avoid conflict—we uncover solutions that might otherwise remain hidden
