Comrades,
I have recently received an offer for a learning opportunity to become a WATR AP certified water professional. Having been a LEED AP for years and seen the growth of that business model, I am always interested in professional organization certification for the projects that we design, in order that the client can receive 3rd party validation resulting in improved performance and increased property value (we can debate this point later).
Unfortunately, upon searching the web in great depth, I can find no information concerning this organization called the North American Institute of Water Sustainability. Nothing on personnel, mission statements, projects, financials, history-nothing. Their website is extremely limited in factual detail; however, it does proudly display the AIA and USGBC logos as a sign of validity. I would recommend to our group that we alert any members of the potential scam - a pseudo organization based on the USGBC model. The webinar is to start on November 1, so this needs to go out quickly to avoid any member from being ensnared. It may be valid, but there are a suitable number of red flags which would warrant skepticism and certainly warrant hesitation before investing a webinar fee for a questionable and possibly fictitious organization.
If there are others of you in authority within AIA who might validate this group please let me know and I will certainly retract and apologize as is appropriate.
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Geoffrey Reiner AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Jacobs
Fort Worth, TX
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