Ellington Innovation Award 

Sponsored by ACAD-Plus, Inc.  

CFTA Leadership is excited to announce the opportunity to win the Ellington Innovation Award, formerly known as the Project Showcase Award.  The Ellington Innovation Award honors CFTA's exceptional visionary and CFTA Past President (2015 - 2019), Michelle Ellington.  This is an opportunity to illustrate the incredible work that you do and showcase your expertise with the CFTA community.  

The Ellington Innovation Award will be awarded at the CFTA Annual Conference and voted on by your peers.  Session presentations, excluding keynotes, by CFTA Campus Members and CFTA Campus Members presenting jointly with CFTA Business Partners will be eligible to win the award by showcasing their innovative solution, project, and expertise. 

Innovative solutions and sharing of ideas are at the core of what defines the CFTA Mission and community.  All conference attendees are eligible to vote via a survey following each eligible breakout session they attend.  A link to the Survey for each eligible session will be accessible to all attendees through the conference app and via QR code. 

What to Consider When Filling Out the Survey: 

• Overall Session Rating
• Level of Innovation 

Votes are reviewed and tallied by the CFTA Board of Directors. In the event of a tie, CFTA Board of Directors, will make the final decision on the award winner. 

CFTA 2024 Ellington Innovation Award Winner

Innovations in AI & Digital Ecosystems for Facility Operations at the Largest US District    

Presented by Peggy M. Quijada de Franke & James Conway of the Los Angeles Community College District, Sunil Shah of Ambient Program Management, and Kimon Onuma of ONUMA, Inc. 

California's Community Colleges, spanning 90M sq. ft., with the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) at 12M sq. ft., leverage BIM, GIS, CMMS, and mobile technology integrated via a state-owned facility inventory, facility condition and capital planning system. This ecosystem of connected tools breaks silos by linking data to single sources of truth, enhancing facility and asset management. Simplified mobile interfaces allow easy access, transforming complex operational data into actionable insights in real-time. Rapidly deployed and adopted, it showcases effective, modern facility management. Presenters will provide insights into the district's objectives regarding cost, energy, data, and operations. They will explain how data is used to enable human and artificial intelligence to do more with less.