April 5, 2022

We’re proud to share that our Director of Communications, Darra Kubera, was named one of ten finalists for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award! The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is a representative for ATHENA International, a nonprofit that seeks to support, develop, and honor women leaders.

The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award is a program with a rich quarter century history of honoring exceptional leaders. Presenting this award in Buffalo is an acknowledgement of the contributions and importance of local emerging leaders. Evaluation categories and criteria consisted of professional leadership, community service, and personal leadership – with finalists demonstrating excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business and community.

Darra continuously pushes our team down the right path and wants us to always be thinking about what we can do to tilt the status quo, to solve the next problem, and help not just our team but also our clients be the best at what they do. FOS is a multidisciplinary professional services and software consultancy that provides facility assessments, capital planning, ADA compliance, risk assessments, preventative maintenance planning, asset tagging, and job order contracting to facility managers and owners all across the United States - that's a lot of stories to tell, but Darra handles it seamlessly.

In January 2020 FOS officially became their own distinct branded entity. Shortly after this announcement was made, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The rest of the year was a tumultuous time, considering the typical FOS operation is based on the ability to travel across the country to perform in-person facility condition assessments. Throughout all of this, Darra maintained a positive attitude, and continued to successfully market our new brand to the world. Due to Darra's outstanding leadership 2021 was one of our most successful years, not just in revenue but also in branding and external communications. FOS designed and released a new website, was recognized as a Buffalo Business First Best Places To Work, was featured in Building WNY magazine, participated in the facility management podcast called "High Reliability," and was named #1 in the world for Facility Management Services by World Architecture 100.

Darra has an innate ability to remain calm while coordinating, communicating, and managing multiple simultaneous projects while also meeting deadlines. But her attitude and leadership skills don't stop at the office door. She is an active member in her community, through B Team Buffalo (a non-profit dedicated to promoting a lasting sense of civic pride in Buffalo), Say Yes Buffalo (supporting young men and women looking to develop their professional knowledge and skills), and various firm-wide community service activities. She's a true asset to our team and community. Congrats again Darra!