Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan started his facilities path roughly 20 years ago as a gardener in his campus wetlands. Seeing that he needed to get a degree to better himself, he decided to go back to school. He obtained a two-year degree from Cascadia College and then went on to Western Washington University (WWU). After WWU he was unsure on what he wanted to do next, he called up an old supervisor at UW Bothell to see if there were any openings and started back up in facilities, but this time working as administrative staff. In the subsequent years, he worked in a variety of positions and slowly worked up through the department. He is now a Facilities Project Manager who sits as a member of the Facilities Leadership team.

Dan’s first introduction to PCAPPA was in 2009. “Our school was to be the host school in 2010,” he says, “and our Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities asked a few of us to attend the 2009 conference to get an understanding on how they are run. As a front-line staff member, I went into the conference feeling a little out of place as I was attending with mostly higher-level facilities professionals. What I found was completely different. Attendees were very welcoming, and open to discussing what was happening on their campus. While some conversations were at a higher level than where I was professionally, no one excluded me and, in fact, they welcomed my thoughts or opinions.”

He has taken advantage of many of the organization’s professional development opportunities; completing the Supervisor’s Tool Kit, APPA Leadership Academy, and obtained his CEFP. He now sit as a PCAPPA board member as the Small and Community College Chair.

Dan says, “PCAPPA is a wonderful organization for Facilities Professionals at every level. Through PCAPPA I have gained a network of people I can lean on for recommendations and a springboard to listen to my problems and hear theirs. Through the years we have built relationships with other institutions and our business partners. Our members, board, and business partners are very approachable and willing to help. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. If I can’t help, I am sure I can connect you with someone within our network who can.”