Bill Kersten Named NATEF President

Leesburg, VA. November 2, 2005 - The National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) today named William A. Kersten as President. He succeeds Ron Weiner, who has been named CEO of the organization. NATEF was founded in 1983 as an independent, non-profit organization designed to evaluate technician training programs against standards developed by the automotive industry and recommend qualifying programs for certification (accreditation) by ASE, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

“As the importance of NATEF continues to grow in helping to provide the qualified entry-level technicians our industry needs, Bill is uniquely qualified to lead the organization,” said Ron Weiner, NATEF CEO. “The NATEF Trustees have made a solid choice for the future.”

Prior to his appointment as NATEF President, Bill was the Senior Vice-President, Operations with ASE. Bill has been with ASE since June 1979. He was responsible for all aspects of test development and administration. Bill organized and facilitated ASE’s test question writing workshops and assisted with test assembly. He oversaw ASE’s growth from 16 exams to 47 tests in ten different service areas. In addition, he facilitated the development of the task lists and standards for program certification through the NATEF evaluation process.

Kersten serves as the 2005 President of the Board of Directors for the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). He is a member of SAE and ASAE. He has been an ASE-certified Master Automobile Technician since 1978.

Prior to joining ASE, Bill was a teacher, football coach, and wrestling coach for 12 years at Westhill Central High School in Syracuse, New York, followed by two years as an associate professor in the automotive technology department at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

Kersten received a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Science degree in public school administration from the State University of New York at Oswego.

NATEF was founded in 1983 as an independent, non-profit organization with a single mission: To evaluate technician training programs against standards developed by the automotive industry and recommend qualifying programs for certification (accreditation) by ASE, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. The NATEF process has resulted in certified automotive training programs in all fifty states at the secondary and post-secondary levels. For more information about NATEF, visit www.natef.org.

The independent, nonprofit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) was established in 1972 to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service through the testing and certification of repair and service professionals. ASE certification serves as an impartial, third-party endorsement of knowledge and experience on a national basis. Today, there are approximately 400,000 ASE- certified professionals who work in dealerships, independent shops, service stations, collision repair shops, auto parts stores, fleets, machine shops, schools and colleges throughout the country. For more information about ASE, visit the Web site at http://www.ase.com.

For more information:

Tony Molla (703) 669-6614
E-mail: Tony Molla