Apr 5, 2022
BPI Leaders to Present at 2022 National Home Performance Conference
The Building Performance Institute is presenting at the 2022 National Home Performance Conference & Trade Show. Sessions include workforce development, BPI certification updates, and healthy home assessments. Presenters include BPI staff members Nancy Kaplan, Jeremy O'Brien, and Larry Zarker.
By: Kelly Carey
The 2022 National Home Performance Conference & Trade Show celebrates 36 years of gathering the home performance and weatherization industry for 4 days of education, networking, and inspiration. Join us this year at the Omni Nashville, April 11-14, as we gather in person once again! Several BPI staff will present sessions, so check out the details below!
Nancy Kaplan is the Building Performance Institute, Inc.’s (BPI’s) Director of Workforce Development. Nancy has been with BPI since 2009 and has worked extensively with a nationwide network of BPI Test Centers and proctors that offer BPI certification testing, and with industry, stakeholders to help foster relationships with BPI to work collaboratively in moving the home performance industry forward. Currently, she is focused on advancing diversity and inclusion in the home performance workforce, along with promoting the BPI Building Science Principles (BSP) and Healthy Housing Principles (HHP) Certificates of Knowledge as ways of introducing individuals seeking careers in energy efficiency and existing building improvements to the concepts of home performance, house as a system, and the impact of our living environment on our health.
Bridging the Gap in the Home Performance Workforce Pipeline Workshop: There are gaps in connecting the talent pipeline from entry-level workers through post-secondary education to sustained employment. During this workshop, hear from a panel of industry leaders who are actively working to bolster the nation’s high-performance building workforce.
Workforce Development Partnerships & Strategies: Join us for an in-depth look at workforce development programs from around the nation. Learn how these partners are taking on the challenge to meet the workforce gap in the building performance industry and attract the next-generation workforce.
Jeremy O’Brien is a BPI Technical Relations Representative. He provides technical assistance, clarification, and guidance to Certified Professionals, and supports the Standards Technical Committees with technical guidance and Standards clarification. Jeremy is a Home Energy Score (HES) assessor and mentor of HES Assessor candidates. His work with BPI has included quality assurance inspections, proctoring written and field exams, orienting new proctors and QA inspectors, exam development, and standards development. Jeremy has worked in the home performance industry for 23 years and has had many roles such as energy auditor, HVAC technician/installer, air sealer, insulator, QA inspector, and project manager.
BPI’s Home Energy Professional and Core Certification Update: Join us for an update on BPI certifications and certificate programs. Jeremy will be discussing the latest developments regarding the Building Analyst and Envelope Professional certifications and the recently released Site Supervisor Certificate of Knowledge. Those holding HEP Energy Auditor and Quality Control Inspector certification will hear about the recent extension to their certification expiration date to allow time for recertification, especially those working in the DOE WAP. Jeremy will also provide an update on what credentials are on the horizon. As always there will be adequate time for Q&A. You don’t want to miss this session!
Larry Zarker is the CEO of the Building Performance Institute, the professional standards-setting and credentialing organization for both the weatherization and home performance contracting industries. He oversees BPI’s national network of over 10,000 certified professionals and BPI GoldStar contracting companies. He was instrumental in moving BPI toward the new Healthy Home Evaluator certification and the new Healthy Housing Principles reference guide and certificate of knowledge. He regularly delivers talks on the various ways that conditions in homes can negatively impact the health of their occupants. Prior to BPI, he worked for nearly twenty years with the NAHB Research Center and was the Vice President of Marketing for over a decade, serving both the new home and remodeling sectors with innovative product development and research.
How to Do Healthy Home Assessments: The goal of the workshop is to provide a strong foundation of the concepts and principles for performing effective assessments of environmental health and safety risks in homes.
Tiered Credentials for Healthy Homes Evaluations: This will be a highly interactive session aimed at encouraging participation from the full range of intended audiences. The goal will be to present a framework for dialogue on what is and what is not working in the healthy homes arena.
Healthier Energy Efficient Building & Retrofit Materials: This session is focused on insulation and sealants, and is designed to give attendees a basic background on how to select materials that can reduce negative impacts on human and environmental health. The session will also give practical tools and simple guidance that can be used to select insulation and sealants that promote both energy efficiency and healthier environments.
Who Holds the Keys to a Healthier Home? What Doors Are Unlocked? Who Is the Key-maker?: This session will cover the key elements to a healthier home. Let’s discuss the various roles each key holder has in creating common failures (unhealthy conditions) and current successes that open the doors to a healthier home.