Sarah Koontz, Baltimore Interior Designer, Earns North American Interior Design Credential

Baltimore, Maryland – Sarah Koontz, an interior designer with the firm of NFD, Inc. in Hunt Valley, recently passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) Examination and earned the prestigious NCIDQ Certificate.

Passage of the Examination and earning the NCIDQ credential signifies that Koontz has met the standards for education, experience and examination for interior designers in North America.  A minimum of six years of combined education and experience is required before being eligible to take the practice-based Examination.  The NCIDQ Examination is a rigorous, three-part examination requiring examinees to demonstrate competence in a wide variety of aspects that affect the safety of the interior environment.  The examination covers codes, building systems, construction standards, contract administration, design application, project coordination and professional practice.

“NCIDQ has long been the standard to identify those interior designers who are uniquely qualified to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare,” explains Patty Blaser, 2011 NCIDQ president.  “The NCIDQ Certificate is the mark of a professional, and this credential is what every user of a space should look for when choosing or working with an interior designer.”

Koontz graduated Magna Cum Laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science and has worked in the interior design field for four years.  In her current position with NFD, Inc., Koontz serves as a Senior Designer and is a project manager for many NFD projects. 

Jeanie Stambaugh, vice president of NFD, stated, “We are extremely proud that Sarah has earned the NCIDQ Certificate.  This important, industry-recognized credential underscores our firm’s commitment to ensuring that our clients have access to the most qualified interior designers possible.”

NFD, Inc. is 34 year old certified MBE commercial interior design and planning firm creating inspired environments for improved performance. For more information regarding NFD, Inc., please visit www.nfd.com.

NCIDQ is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design.  More information about the organization may be found at www.ncidq.org.

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