Listen "You Have 30 Seconds — What Do You Say?"
Episode Synopsis
🎙 Straightway Through with Gina — Helping you speak with clarity, courage, and connection.
Episode 11: You Have 30 Seconds — What Do You Say?
Episode Summary:
In this episode, I sit down with a nonprofit founder to refine and clarify his elevator pitch for his Technology Advancement Awareness Foundation. Together, we explore what makes a pitch memorable, how to communicate impact with clarity, and why the way you say it can make all the difference.
Meet Today’s Guest Derek Tynan:
Derek D. Tynan, P.E., has had a career in Engineering for over 20 years. He is the Founder and President of the Technological Advancement Awareness Foundation (TA-AF) and Senior Engineer with OLA Consulting Engineers. He contributed to a pilot program on Energy Auditing for New York City buildings, leading to the formation of Local Law 87-09 (NYC legislation requiring buildings to be surveyed to identify areas that are not functioning as intended and opportunities for energy reduction). He also served six years on the board of the Building Commissioning Association Northeast Chapter. During his time with the board and thereafter (8+ years) he supported and led the coordination and execution of an annual summit on building commissioning. He was also president of the chapter in 22’ and 23’.
Some of the most notable agencies that he helped guide with best practice presentations on building commissioning included Utilities, Offices of Sustainability's, State Code Officials and various other services and software providers. This included leading a series of panel discussions on Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS). He is a sub-committee voting member on several guidelines and standards committees with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Currently he is looking to find people that care about being more in control of their smart phone usage and is actively looking for people to sign up to petition for a National Holiday dedicated to reducing our dependance to technology known as National Greyscale Day.
Derek’s life passion is being a loving and caring husband and father to two boys. He’s driven to be the best example of a father by showing them how to help others with the best of his abilities, so that someday they have a road map of what their true potential is, so that they will be able to help and lead others for generations to come.
Derek seeks to speak with purpose so he’s more capable of influencing others by first understanding their needs and ambitions and second to inspire them to become open to aligning with something larger than themselves.
✨ Connect with Derek ✨
•LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-d-tynan-p-e-71a244b/ •Technological Advancement Awareness Foundation website: https://ta-af.org
About Your Host:
Hi, I’m Gina — host of Straightway Through with Gina. I believe honest words guide us, and real conversations transforms us into ourselves. In each episode, I explore the struggles and stories we don’t always say out loud, from the sting of being left on read to the courage it takes to speak up. My hope? That you leave each episode with more clarity, more courage, and a straight path forward.
✨ Connect with Me ✨
•Website: https://www.straightwaycoaching.com
•Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.mongiello.3
•YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@straightwaythrough
•Say It Straight to Yourself Journal Prompt Membership: https://kit.straightwaycoaching.com/sayitstraight
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, and share — it helps others find the show and join the conversation. 💬
Episode 11: You Have 30 Seconds — What Do You Say?
Episode Summary:
In this episode, I sit down with a nonprofit founder to refine and clarify his elevator pitch for his Technology Advancement Awareness Foundation. Together, we explore what makes a pitch memorable, how to communicate impact with clarity, and why the way you say it can make all the difference.
Meet Today’s Guest Derek Tynan:
Derek D. Tynan, P.E., has had a career in Engineering for over 20 years. He is the Founder and President of the Technological Advancement Awareness Foundation (TA-AF) and Senior Engineer with OLA Consulting Engineers. He contributed to a pilot program on Energy Auditing for New York City buildings, leading to the formation of Local Law 87-09 (NYC legislation requiring buildings to be surveyed to identify areas that are not functioning as intended and opportunities for energy reduction). He also served six years on the board of the Building Commissioning Association Northeast Chapter. During his time with the board and thereafter (8+ years) he supported and led the coordination and execution of an annual summit on building commissioning. He was also president of the chapter in 22’ and 23’.
Some of the most notable agencies that he helped guide with best practice presentations on building commissioning included Utilities, Offices of Sustainability's, State Code Officials and various other services and software providers. This included leading a series of panel discussions on Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS). He is a sub-committee voting member on several guidelines and standards committees with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Currently he is looking to find people that care about being more in control of their smart phone usage and is actively looking for people to sign up to petition for a National Holiday dedicated to reducing our dependance to technology known as National Greyscale Day.
Derek’s life passion is being a loving and caring husband and father to two boys. He’s driven to be the best example of a father by showing them how to help others with the best of his abilities, so that someday they have a road map of what their true potential is, so that they will be able to help and lead others for generations to come.
Derek seeks to speak with purpose so he’s more capable of influencing others by first understanding their needs and ambitions and second to inspire them to become open to aligning with something larger than themselves.
✨ Connect with Derek ✨
•LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-d-tynan-p-e-71a244b/ •Technological Advancement Awareness Foundation website: https://ta-af.org
About Your Host:
Hi, I’m Gina — host of Straightway Through with Gina. I believe honest words guide us, and real conversations transforms us into ourselves. In each episode, I explore the struggles and stories we don’t always say out loud, from the sting of being left on read to the courage it takes to speak up. My hope? That you leave each episode with more clarity, more courage, and a straight path forward.
✨ Connect with Me ✨
•Website: https://www.straightwaycoaching.com
•Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.mongiello.3
•YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@straightwaythrough
•Say It Straight to Yourself Journal Prompt Membership: https://kit.straightwaycoaching.com/sayitstraight
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, and share — it helps others find the show and join the conversation. 💬
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ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.