Douglas E. Read is ASHRAE’s Program Director for Government Affairs.

Prior to joining ASHRAE, Read served as the lead liaison to government agencies in the area of conformity assessment and compliance for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). He previously worked at The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) heading up its Washington, DC government affairs office representing SAE’s 100,000 members on Capitol Hill, and with relevant government agencies on legislative and regulatory issues. While at SAE, he also served as a key U.S. Auto Industry. Delegate to the United Nations Transport Division in Geneva assisting in the development of global regulations affecting the industry. Read also served as Manager of Product and Personnel Certification, Standards, and Quality Management Programs at The American Petroleum Institute (API).

During the last 20 years, Read also has served on several policy committees of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), including the International Policy Committee, Organizational Member Forum, the Conformity Assessment Policy Committee, and the ANSI Accreditation Committee. In addition, he is a current member of the World Standards Day Planning Committee, and an active member of the National Press Club, and the ANSI Caucus. Prior to coming to Washington, he worked as a design engineer for Black and Decker where he also managed their corporate standards programs. He also taught computer aided design at the New England Institute of Technology for several years. Read holds a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Organizational Development. At ASHRAE, Read leads a new and exciting initiative for the Washington office in serving the public policy interests of the Society and to become more focused, results driven, and proactive. These efforts include highlighting ASHRAE’s work for government agencies, Congress, and other organizations interested in the built environment.

While at ASHRAE, Read has served as the Chairman of the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (see http://www.hpbccc.org/), the Secretariat to The High Performance Building Council, Chairman of the High Performance Building and Energy Efficiency Roundtable, Chairman of the Sustainable Building Industry Council, Chairman of the Consultative Council of The National Institute of Building Sciences, and key liaison to the Energy Policy Alliance, the World Standards Day Planning Committee, and the Zero Energy Commercial Building Consortium.

Mark R. Ames is ASHRAE's Manager of Government Affairs.

Prior to joining ASHRAE, Ames served as the Manager of Government Relations for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), where he represented NASSP members on Capitol Hill, the White House, and relevant federal agencies, and oversaw all federal relations concerning green school buildings, budget, appropriations, school leadership, and a number of other issues. Ames also built and oversaw NASSP's Federal Grassroots Network, and State Lobbyist Network, which have helped enhance member knowledge of the inner workings of legislative developments on Capitol Hill, and increase the effectiveness of the organization's advocacy efforts.

While at NASSP, Ames also served as the lead on a number of coalitions, including Rebuild America's Schools, and the Executive Board of the Committee for Education Funding, the nation's largest coalition of education organizations, where he assisted with the search and selection of the organization's new Executive Director, and also helped to guide the organization's advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill.

Prior to NASSP, Ames worked as a Policy Associate for the Native American Contractor’s Association, conducting policy research and representing Native Americans, Hawaiians, and Alaskans on Capitol Hill and relevant federal agencies. Ames has also worked on several campaigns at the local, state, and federal levels.

Ames holds a Masters and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from The American University, and is a graduate of the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute from American.

Mark C. Wills is ASHRAE's Manager of State and Local Government Relations. In this capacity, Wills is developing a network of grassroots engineer-advocates who can speak on behalf of their chapters to advance ASHRAE’s public policy aims and provide policymakers with the technical resources they need to make sound decisions. Also, Wills has been the staff lead for the Codes and Standards Subcommittee of the Advocacy Committee, which is tasked with developing the scope of ASHRAE’s burgeoning grassroots programs.

Wills serves as the primary government affairs liaison to other organizations within the building sector with state and local government affairs programs, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA); the U.S. Green Building Council; the International Code Council; the National Association of State Energy Officials; and the National Council of State Legislatures. In addition, Wills works to expand ASHRAE’s reach via social media – in particular, through a new advocacy-focused Twitter feed (@ASHRAEGovAffs) – which boosts the visibility of ASHRAE’s programs and policy priorities to other organizations and raises awareness of ASHRAE’s government relations efforts to members – especially the “next generation” of engineers who are the principal users of social media outlets.

Prior to joining ASHRAE, Wills served as Manager of Codes Advocacy for the AIA, for which he served as the general program manager for advocacy, communications, and logistics initiatives related to architects' roles in the development, adoption, and implementation of building and energy codes, and acted as the primary point-of-contact for state and local chapters relative to codes-related lobbying and policy. Also, Wills was the primary editor of a widely distributed biweekly online newsletter encompassing all facets of public policy of interest to AIA member architects. Wills previously served as Manager of State Issues and Programs for the AIA, acting as an ad hoc "clearinghouse" for chapters on state-specific public policy issues.

Prior to his work with the AIA, Wills worked as a Legislative Assistant in the Minnesota House of Representatives, which spurred his interest in state government affairs. Subsequently, he worked in this arena with several organizations in the Washington, DC area, including StateScape; the American Insurance Association; and Stateside Associates. Wills also served as Chief Legislative Analyst for NumbersUSA, a nonprofit organization devoted to federal immigration reform.
 
Wills holds a Bachelor's degree in history from the University of Minnesota, Morris.

Patricia E. Ryan is the Assistant to the Director, and the ASHRAE Washington Office Manager.

She began working for ASHRAE’s Government Affairs department when the office first opened its doors in February 1981--the same year ASHRAE headquarters moved from New York to Atlanta. Prior to joining ASHRAE, Ryan worked as White House staff under the direction of Joan Mondale’s Federal Council of the Arts and Humanities, and previously worked in the Government Affairs Department at the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  She holds a B.S. degree from Central Connecticut State College in Art Education. Her duties include: reviewing and monitoring public policy issues utilizing resources such as the Federal Register and CQ Daily; supporting the ASHRAE Advocacy Committee and the Building, Safety and Security Special Committee; representing ASHRAE at professional and government meetings; assisting in the planning and organization of meetings, workshops, briefings and other advocacy events; and managing all administrative functions of the ASHRAE Washington Office.

ASHRAE Washington Office
1828 L Street, NW
Suite 810
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone (202) 833-1830
Fax: (202) 833-0118