NATE Names Valerie Briggs Director of Marketing and Business Development

 ARLINGTON, VA.–December 5, 2012  North American Technician Excellence (NATE), the nation’s largest industry-endorsed, non-profit certification organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians is pleased to announce the appointment of Valerie Briggs as its new Director of Marketing and Business Development.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Valerie as our new Director of Marketing and Business Development,” stated Don Frendberg, Chairman of the NATE Board of Trustees. “As we continue to promote the value of technician certification to the HVACR industry and consumers, her marketing expertise will be a tremendous value to our continued growth.”

As Director of Marketing and Business Development, Briggs will oversee business development, advertising, marketing, and public relations activities for the organization. She will also serve as NATE’s staff liaison on the NATE marketing committee, which is comprised of numerous industry professionals and subject matter experts who volunteer their time to support the advancement of technician certification in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry.

Prior to joining NATE, Briggs worked as Senior Director of External Communications and Marketing Outreach the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), a national health care trade association representing the interests of the owners of over 23,000 independent retail pharmacies. She was previously responsible for marketing and training for the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program, a healthcare and employment program for people with disabilities, and in the late 1990’s worked as a Marketing Manager for The Community PhoneBook, handling media, marketing and promotional opportunities for 135 community telephone directories published in 11 states.

Briggs graduated from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and earned an MBA and Master’s degree in Marketing from University of Maryland University College.

For more information about NATE, visit www.natex.org.

About North American Technician Excellence (NATE) Headquartered in Arlington, Va., NATE was founded in 1997 as the nation’s largest industry-endorsed, non-profit certification organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians. NATE tests technicians while others train. Testing validates the technician’s knowledge and a training program’s instruction. NATE-approved testing organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada offer NATE tests. Candidates can earn installation and/or service certification in nine specialty areas: air-conditioning, air distribution, heat pumps, gas heating, oil heating, hydronic gas, hydronic oil, and commercial, light commercial refrigeration and senior efficiency analyst. NATE also offers the International Ground Source Heat Pump test. For more information about NATE, visit www.natex.org.