The Arizona Builders Alliance (ABA) announced the addition of Stephen Nichols to its team. Nichols, a long-time volunteer instructor with the ABA, will take on the part-time role of Instructional Design & Training Manager, a vital service for the organization’s members.

As an instructor with the ABA, Nichols has seen first-hand the value of training programs for the organization’s members. In this new role, Nichols will be able to make even more impact on the industry.

“I am excited to now be ‘officially’ joining such a great team and serving an incredible roster of members,” Nichols said. “In this new role, I am presented with the challenging opportunity to further develop new & existing curricula, evaluating and providing input intended to elevate the content and learning experience of our members.”

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Nichols has an extensive background in construction, both as a business owner and a project manager and director. In the past 18 years, Nichols has been a Project Manager with Austin Commercial, a Project Director with W.E. O’Neil Construction and the owner of A3 CM Services, LLC, a private consulting and teaching firm. For the past six years, Nichols gave up his spare time to work as a volunteer CM-Lean Instructor with the ABA. His role with the ABA may have expanded, but Nichols will continue his work as a Construction Consultant & Lean Construction Trainer with A3 CM Services.

“Stephen Nichols brings consistent excellence to our programming and will allow us to provide even stronger offerings to the membership,” noted ABA President Tom Dunn.

The ABA is recognized nationally as one of the most prolific organizations when it comes to providing educational programs to its membership. Nichols will work with the ABA team of volunteer instructors and advisory board members to create programs that bolster the training and instruction that the ABA member companies provide.

With Nichols on board, the ABA has begun providing ‘in house’ training at the request of members. He is a proponent of Lean Construction, Last Planner® System, and the Associated General Contractor (AGC) LCEP and is working with the AGC to develop a new edition of the CM-Lean Certification curriculum.

“My hope is to partner with this incredible team and work together to continue to develop and grow the educational opportunities we offer our membership, as well as those who may not be members but still frequent ABA programs,” Nichols said. “I am looking forward to helping develop and present additional ‘lean’ educational opportunities for those seeking continued education credits toward their CM-Lean Certification.”