Nicole Butler leads AWPA standards work amid industry workforce shift

Nicole Butler, executive vice president of the American Wood Protection Association, is steering technical standards work that affects wood durability, safety and sustainability. Her profile also highlights a growing workforce transition in standards development as retirements create a need for new talent and mentorship.

Why it matters: - Butler’s work shapes consensus-based standards that influence how wood products are used, helping affect durability, safety and sustainability across the industry. - Her experience also points to a broader standards-development challenge: retaining expertise as retirements create a talent gap.

What happened: - Nicole Butler serves as executive vice president of the American Wood Protection Association in the Greater Orlando area. - Butler has more than 20 years of experience in standards development and organizational leadership. - Before AWPA, Butler spent over two decades at the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. - Her ATIS work included telecommunications standards, cybersecurity, smart cities and next-generation communication technologies. - The Influential Women profile was published June 23, 2026. - More information is available through Nicole Butler’s profile.

The details: - At AWPA, Butler oversees technical committees, annual meetings and industry standards development. - AWPA standards support the durability, safety and sustainability of wood products. - Butler’s career has centered on coordination among technical teams and executive stakeholders. - Her work at ATIS focused on projects that influenced communication infrastructure across North America. - Butler holds a degree in psychology from the University of Florida. - She credits collaboration, mentorship and consensus-building as central to her leadership approach. - Butler encourages young women in standards and technical fields to build networks with experienced professionals, especially women mentors. - She says standards work matters because it improves interoperability, safety and efficiency across industries.

Between the lines: - Butler’s profile reflects how standards work often happens out of public view but has broad operational impact. - Her emphasis on consensus suggests that technical progress in critical infrastructure depends as much on relationship-building as on engineering. - The retirement wave she flags may force the standards sector to recruit and train faster or risk losing institutional knowledge.

What's next: - Butler is focused on attracting, developing and retaining new talent in standards development. - She is also pushing mentorship as a way to prepare the next generation of technical leaders. - AWPA’s ongoing committee and standards work will continue to track evolving environmental and engineering requirements.

The bottom line: - Butler’s career highlights the growing importance of standards leaders who can bridge technical expertise, collaboration and workforce renewal.