Contact NAPAC at 1400 N. 14th Street, Arlington, VA 22209 or 800-224-6155.
The National Association of Professionally Accredited Contractors (“NAPAC”) is a remodeling and home improvement industry association providing contractors with a portal to real-world compliance tools, advanced legal and operational seminars, expert white papers and best practices guides, developing news and effective targeted lobbying. The monthly NAPAC Report is the industry’s only publication focusing exclusively on legal, operational and tax issues impacting contractors in the industry. NAPAC is overseen by an executive advisory board comprised of industry and manufacturing representatives. NAPAC is supported by grants from various industry leaders and by the industry law firm of Berenson LLP.
EXECUTIVE ADVISORY BOARD
Mark E. Berch, Chairman and President, Service Finance Company LLC
Mark is the Chairman and President of Service Finance Company LLC, a nationally licensed home remodeling sales finance company, FHA Title I Lender, and third-party servicer with the authority to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Mark has spent the majority of his adult life in and around the home improvement industry. He has been a principal in several companies that rapidly expanded and were nationally recognized. He was co-founder and president of an HVAC company with 42 locations in 17 states.
Mark was also the founder of a home security company that operated in California, Georgia, and Illinois. His background and experience enables him to effectively marry his in-depth knowledge of the home improvement industry with his expertise in financing, creating the best financing options for both the home improvement retailer and the consumer.
Bruce Christensen, General Manager, GE Home Improvement
Few people are as well known and respected in the Home Improvement business as Bruce. He serves on the Research Planning Committee for the Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University and is actively involved in the Home Improvement Research Institute and Remodelers Advantage. In 2006, he received the President’s Award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) for his commitment and service to the Home Improvement industry and in 2007 he received the Outstanding Associate Service Award from the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers (NAHBR).
Bruce has more than 23 years of financial services experience and has specialized in private label credit card services, extended financing and installment lending for the home improvement industry for more than 13 years. He has been GE’s Home Improvement general manager since 2002.
Bruce is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
Mark A. Curry, President, Those Remodeling Guys LLC
Mark is a cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland, Aerospace Engineering. Having spent the 80s perfecting his analytical and problem-solving skills in the aerospace industry, an interesting twist of fate introduced him to the lucrative industry of direct selling in 1989. Despite the shock and protest of family and colleagues, Mark jumped headfirst into the home improvement industry and never looked back.
Having started as a commissioned sales representative, Mark eventually went on to purchase Appleby Window Systems in Pennsylvania, one of the regions largest home remodeling companies. After selling that company in 2007, he immediately founded a new company, Those Remodeling Guys LLC (TRG), which has been recognized in 2011 by Central Penn Business Journal as one of the fastest growing companies. Mark is also the founder of Blue Viking Storage LLC, which provides garage organizational products nationally through The Home Depot service provider program.
Stephen J. Klein, NAPAC Chairman, and Contractor and President, Kachina Lead Paint Solutions
Stephen is the president of a group of companies based out of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Amongst these companies is Anthony Home Improvements, Inc., a third-generation family business founded by his late father in Philadelphia in 1954.
In 2003, Anthony Home Improvements, doing business as Housecrafters, became an exclusive installer for The Home Depot and now sells and installs kitchens, bathrooms, and countertops for 59 of The Home Depot stores in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of Northern Maryland.
Stephen also founded Kachina Lead Paint Solutions LLC and is a co-founder of NAPAC. Kachina is dedicated to ensuring that residential contractors and landlords have a source for training to stay in compliance with laws affecting the industry, primarily now focused on the EPA’s new lead paint regulations.
In 2011, Stephen was one of four finalists for the coveted Fred Case Remodeling Entrepreneur of the Year award, bestowed to those in the industry who best exemplify strong business acumen, financial strength, community and industry involvement, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Stephen is active in a number of professional and civic organizations and is committed to making the remodeling industry better and through Kachina, helping save innocent children and others from the dangers of lead paint poisoning. He is currently the Board President of The Lead Safe America
Foundation.
David Lupberger, Industry Consultant and Author of Managing the Emotional Homeowner
David draws on more than two decades of experience in the residential remodeling field to work with contractors in developing proven business systems. Through his work in the remodeling industry, he seeks to redefine the way the remodeling industry operates so that the trust between quality remodelers, their customers, suppliers, and trade contractors can be leveraged and improved.
David has been involved with custom home building and remodeling for over 20 years. After moving to the Washington, D.C., area in 1988, he practiced high-end residential remodeling and focused on delivering the highest quality service to his clients. Over 90 percent of his work came from repeat and referral business, demonstrating the trust he developed with clients.
That experience in managing customer expectations led him to write a book, Managing the Emotional Homeowner, which has become one of the bibles of the remodeling industry and helped hundreds of remodelers improve the level of service they provide clients.
Rick Strachan, Group President, Residential Remodeling, Hanley Wood, LLC
Rick has been with media serving the construction industry for the past 30 years. He currently serves as Group President with overall responsibility for Hanley Wood’s Residential Remodeling Group. Hanley Wood’s Residential Remodeling Group includes the following print publications and online brands; REMODELING, JOURNAL OF LIGHT CONSTRUCTION, PROSALES, TOOLS OF THE TRADE, REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR, PROFESSIONAL DECK BUILDER, COASTAL CONTRACTOR, BUILDING PRODUCTS, eBUILD, POOL & SPA NEWS, and AQUATICS INTERNATIONAL. In the addition to these brands, Rick is also involved with Hanley Wood Market Intelligence on the Residential Remodeling Index and with Hanley Wood Exhibitions on key trade shows serving the remodeling industry including the Remodeling Show, JLC Live Shows, and International Roofing Expo. He has been with Hanley Wood since 1992. Hanley Wood is one of the top ten Business to Business media firms in the United States and is owned by the private equity firm CCMP.
During his career Rick has been involved in launching many new products including traditional print magazines, online websites, and data products, as well as custom products including custom events and mobile marketing tours. He also has substantial experience with the successful integration of acquired businesses.
Rick is on the board of Joint Center for Housings Studies Harvard University Remodeling Futures Committee. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Home Improvement Research institute and is a Past Chairman of HIRI’s Professional Remodeler Committee. Rick has also been awarded with The National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s Presidents Award and serves on the board of trustees for The National Remodeling Foundation.
Jack G. Zurlini, Jr., Esq., Berenson LLP
Jack is a partner at Berenson LLP and works out of the firm’s Spokane, Washington, office. Prior to joining the firm, Jack worked at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General, first assigned to the Torts Division, where he specialized in defending Washington against employment claims. After two years in Torts, Jack transferred to the Consumer Protection Division where for eight years he led Spokane’s Consumer Protection Investigations and Enforcement Team. During that time Jack investigated and gained the compliance of dozens of businesses in a variety of industries, ranging from mortgage foreclosure rescue and debt relief scams to auto dealerships. Most recently, Jack was lead analyst and prosecutor in the Attorney General’s enforcement actions against several window manufacturers and remodeling companies in Washington for a number of alleged illegal practices including unsubstantiated energy saving claims, false reference pricing and interfering with consumers’ cancellation rights. His enforcement efforts in Washington were relied upon as jumping off points for other states and the Federal Trade Commission.
Jack received his B.A. degree from the Pennsylvania State University in English with honors. He received his J.D. from Rutger’s School of Law at Camden, N.J., in 1985, having clerked with the United States Attorney General’s Office for the District of New Jersey and with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Appellate Division.
