History and governance of ACAC
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The American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) promotes awareness, education and certification for professionals. Our mission is to establish credible certification programs that provide value to certificants, their clients and the public. It is our goal to serve the public interest with integrity as an independent certifying body.
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The Arizona Indoor Air Quality Council was formed in 1992 to promote awareness and education in Indoor Air Quality through workshops and newsletters. By late 1995, the Council had more than 150 charter members.
As the Council grew, so did interest in starting similar organizations in other states. In 1998, the corporation changed its name to the American Indoor Air Quality Council, and began to grow nationally. By September 2000, the Council had grown to over 500 members with 23 corporate sponsors.
By 2002, membership in the American Indoor Air Quality Council, also known as the IAQ Council, had reached approximately 3000 members, 200 corporate sponsors and had 46 local chapters in 26 states and several international locations.
On January 1, 2006, a major event changed the scope of the IAQ Council’s activities. As part of an agreement with the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) and the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO)the Council agreed to discontinue all membership services and focus exclusively on certification programs.
At the end of 2006, the IAQ Council had more than 5,000 certificants in nine disciplines related to IAQ consulting, investigation, remediation and administration.
By early 2008, the IAQ Council realized that its expertise in certifications should be expanded to other industries; hence, the Certification Council, Inc. dba American Council for Accredited Certification was incorporated in the State of Arizona in June 2008 and granted not-for-profit 501(c)(6) status by the Internal Revenue Service. The process of changing the focus and image of the IAQ Council to the American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC), a name more descriptive of our present and future certification activities, was complete.
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The operations and governance of the ACAC function at three levels. Final executive authority is vested by the Council’s bylaws in a Board of Directors, which acts by majority vote in all matters. The Board of Directors functions as an "Operating Board" to guide ACAC decision-making at the highest level.
The Board of Directors in turn appoints a National Advisory Board to assist them in their decisions. The National Advisory Board is composed of industry professionals and members of the public sector, and offers the Directors an independent perspective on issues facing the various industries represented by our certification programs. The National Advisory Board also oversees the implementation of basic certification and operational guidelines common to all ACAC certification programs.
Finally, each of ACAC's twenty certification programs is operated by a separate Certification Board, which presides over the awarding of certifications in its specific category. Certification Boards are composed of experts who have field experience in the areas of expertise required for the certification, and each of them holds the certification that he or she votes to award. Certification Board members develop and approve all examination materials and eligibility requirements, and review all application materials. They approve the awarding of certifications by unanimous vote.
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Click here to see a current list of ACAC board members.
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Charles Wiles - Founder
Adam Andrews - Executive Director
Julie Rhoads - Director of Operations
Tracy Nirenberg - Financial Administrator
Constance Flamion - Certification & Website Administrator