Keyworth is first INWIC president
30th November 2022
FRANCE: Colleen Keyworth, current president of the US group Women in HVACR, has been appointed as the first president of the International Network for Women in Cooling (INWIC).
Established this year to advance the engagement of women, promote career opportunities, and increase their overall participation in the refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump sector, INWIC was the brainchild of Stephen Gill, founder of World Refrigeration Day.
Colleen Keyworth received a unanimous vote to be first president during the recent quarterly INWIC board meeting. She will serve for one year.
Dr Ina Colombo-Youla, current deputy director general of the International Institute of Refrigeration is president-elect.
The remainder of the board comprises representatives from each founding partner. This includes AIRAH (Australia), AREA (Europe), ASHRAE (Global), CAR (China), FAIAR (Latin America), IIR (Global), IOR (UK), ISHRAE (India), JSRAE (Japan), U-3ARC (Africa), and Women in HVACR (North America), along with WRD and UNEP OzonAction jointly managing the secretariat.
During the board meeting, nominations were also accepted for three working groups: Mentorship, Membership, and Media. These working groups will meet on a more regular basis and report back to the board.
Colleen Keyworth has served on the board of Women in HVACR group for the last nine years. During her tenure, the organisation has grown from 100 to over 900 members. She is also the director of sales and marketing for Online Access Inc, an HVACR web marketing company.
On her appointment, Keyworth said: “It will be important to break down the barriers and learn how to work together, not just in our own silos and districts.
“INWIC is such an important organisation because for the first time ever we are being intentional about uniting women’s industry groups from all over the world,” she added. “By doing so, we are able to gather resources and share proven strategies and programs in order to skip the learning curve for groups that are just getting started.”
