Vote for the 2026-2027 Puget Sound Board of Governors!

Our local chapter is gearing up for the year ahead, and member participation is essential. While the majority of next year’s Board of Governors slate has been reviewed and approved by the Nominating Committee, there are two open board positions that require a vote of the membership. We encourage all members to take a few minutes to review the candidates for these open roles and cast your vote. Your involvement helps ensure strong, representative leadership for our chapter. Thank you for taking part and supporting our community.

This vote will close May 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM so that we can announce next year’s board at our May Chapter meeting.

Joe McDonald

Joseph is a sales engineer at Johnson Barrow and approaching 3 years in the industry. After graduating with a mechanical engineering degree in Toronto he made his way to the HVAC world and shortly thereafter joined the Toronto ASHRAE chapter. Upon moving to Seattle in 2024 he joined the Puget Sound Chapter and now sits as the Research Promotion Co-Chair.

Joseph’s Personal Statement: I am thrilled to be nominated. After my first few ASHRAE events in Toronto I knew I wanted to seek out more involvement and eventually the circuit. Over the past couple years that I have been here I have had the honor of helping organize and now lead the ASHRAE golf tournament, experiment with new annual research promotion events such as Casino Night, help run the Chapter Technology awards, and participate in countless YEA events. Next year I will be stepping into the CTTC chair and am excited to be involved and watch the chapter continue to grow. My favorite part has been the variety of people that I have met in the industry, many of which I may have never crossed paths with. It’s especially fun to connect with all the similarly aged engineers at YEA events as we will most likely be crossing paths for years to come.

Kharma Garcia

Kharma Garcia is a Mechanical Designer at Hargis Engineers, currently serving as the DEI Committee Chair for the ASHRAE Puget Sound Chapter. In this role, she has successfully executed three highly attended DEI events this year, celebrating cultural awareness and inclusion. These included Día de los Muertos and Lunar New Year cultural appreciation gatherings, as well as a Women in Construction Week “Blueprints and Brushstrokes” paint-and-sip panel. Beyond her DEI leadership, Kharma actively contributes to the Student Activities Committee, where she champions K–12 outreach initiatives. She has organized a classroom visit to Middle College High School, supported a STEAM Fair at Sawyer Woods Elementary, and coordinated the distribution of Lucy Books to schools across the Kent, Federal Way, Shoreline, and Everett school districts. All the while, Kharma is an active member of the Communications Committee, where she develops and shares content for the ASHRAE Puget Sound website and LinkedIn, helping to strengthen engagement across the chapter.

Kharma’s Personal Statement: If elected to the BOG as Governor, I would focus on strengthening ASHRAE Puget Sound’s engagement with other local professional organizations by building partnerships through shared events and collaborative initiatives. I hope to combine my passion for inclusive and engaging programming with advancing the chapter’s mission of fostering professional growth and positively impacting our community. I’m excited to support the BOG in every capacity needed and am always ready to adapt to accommodate the board’s specific goals for the year.

Ryan Mathis

After graduating from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2017, Ryan started his professional journey in the Memphis, TN market, pursuing a sales career. He moved to Seattle in January 2024 to join the CMS team, where he helps designers, constructors, and owners build a better tomorrow by customizing high-performance, sustainable, and economical HVAC systems.

ASHRAE Bio: YEA Chair (x2), Chapter Technology Transfer (Chair x2, Co-Chair x2), Government Affairs Co-Chair, Nominating Committee Member, CRC Chapter Alternate, Chapter Vice President, Chapter President Elect. Ryan served half a term as Memphis Chapter president prior to moving to Seattle in the middle of his term, which featured a ‘capstone’ project of a local Decarbonization Conference jointly run with the Mississippi Chapter, hosted at Ole Miss. 

Ryan’s Personal Statement: I am looking to expand my commitment to ASHRAE continually, offering perspective from both a different chapter’s operations as well as the experience that comes from chairing positions that cover different stakeholders under ASHRAE’s mission umbrella.

Thank You for Voting
Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this year’s Board of Governors election. Your engagement, especially in voting for the two open board positions, helps ensure strong, representative leadership for our local chapter.

We truly appreciate your involvement and commitment to our community. Together, your participation makes our chapter stronger and sets us up for a successful year ahead.