A Profile of Karen Mattingly

Karen Mattingly has carved an unconventional path into facilities management, starting her career in the field of accounting. With a background in handling accounts payable, receivable, payroll, and purchasing for a major corporation, Karen's transition into her current role as a Construction Project Manager for IEHP, a healthcare organization, illustrates her diverse skill set and determination.

As a child, Karen wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She spent time with her dad working on the family car and helped her mom with tasks like fixing the family water heater. "I wasn't a very girly girl," Karen reflects. "I wore dresses to school like all the other girls, but I was a bit more inquisitive and maybe a little more assertive."

Karen's educational journey included earning an MBA in business with a focus on project management. This academic foundation, combined with hands-on experience, paved the way for her career in facilities management. She credits her success to several mentors who patiently guided her, explaining complex systems like distribution networks, transformers, and generators in simple, non-technical terms.

"You learn a lot by watching and listening," Karen says. "And if you're lucky enough to find folks who can talk plainly and not overelaborate, that’s amazing." One of Karen's first significant projects was managing an office move, which required ordering furniture—a task with which she was initially unfamiliar. She meticulously worked through a spreadsheet with hundreds of parts, ensuring that everything was ordered correctly. Her attention to detail paid off, and she soon became the go-to person for office setups, coordinating deliveries and installations. "It was fun," Karen recalls. "I took the time to figure it out and ended up helping everybody else get their offices set up."

Beyond her professional achievements, Karen is a vibrant individual with a variety of interests. She lives on a property with chickens and ducks, enjoys crocheting in the evenings while watching TV, and loves going to the beach and camping. Karen often finds herself as the only female on her teams, a fact she embraces. She advocates for the potential of a career in facilities management, emphasizing that it offers endless learning opportunities and constant room for improvement. "Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I don’t know anything," she asserts.

Known for her spunky personality, Karen enjoys listening to audiobooks, especially fun fiction, during her commutes. She gets a kick out of home improvement projects, such as installing ceramic tile, and she loves watching true crime and historical home restoration shows. Karen's story is a testament to her adaptability, curiosity, and passion for continuous learning and growth. For folks curious about the facility management field, Karen shared her outlook.

“Be open to learning, mentoring, and networking. I’ve gotten a lot out of being involved in the Project Management Institute, which includes many industries in addition to facility management. A lot of what we do revolves around planning for and executing projects,” said Karen. “In my community, I’ve taken free courses from the utilities company focusing on resources for those responsible for commercial buildings.”