About the Wallcovering Installers School

Shelly Wilkins

Secretary

Walls, Etc.

Shelly Wilkins began installing wall coverings in 1983. She joined the Wallcovering Installers Association in the year 2000 and began paying it back to the WIA by joining the board of directors as a regional director in 2015. In 2020, Shelly became an executive board member of the WIA as treasurer. Her passion has evolved into training new installers in the art of wallcovering.

Phone: 410-259-5978

Email: [email protected]

David Dubose

President

Cutting Edge Inc.

David started his wallcovering career in 1991 as an apprentice to a 3rd generation wallcovering installer in Atlanta, Georgia. After about 2 years of learning the trade, he moved to Raleigh North Carolina and built an installation business employing about 10 people during the height of the 90's when builders put paper in their homes everywhere. As the economy shifted and life changed a bit, in 2003 he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and started his business there. He currently has 7 people working for him installing paper and painting.  The wallcovering industry has undergone a shift in products that has required a high level of skill to install many of the current products.  David has mastered most of the skills required to install these materials and continually seeks new techniques to master the newest products on the market. Over the years he has apprenticed many people in the trade and currently has an installer working for him he apprenticed. David notes that he finds it rewarding watching the success of someone you taught be able to earn a living that is more than double the median income of the local area.

Phone: 612-432-0357

Email: [email protected]

Chad Horn

Vice President

Precision Wallcovering & Painting

Chad is an experienced professional in the wallcovering industry, currently serving as the General Manager and Co-owner of Precision Wallcovering & Painting (PWP) in Southern California. With a strong family background in all aspects of the industry from retail sales to commercial and residential installations, he holds a business degree from San Francisco State University. As an organizational leader, he has experienced the challenge of attracting new, and dedicated talent to the wallcovering industry. Chad hopes that with the WIS, he can contribute to making an impact on the industry’s professionalism and enhance opportunities for future installers. Chad is dedicated to quality, customer satisfaction and a healthy work life balance and wants to facilitate that for future installers.

Phone: 949-493-1300

Email: [email protected]

Greg Laux

Director of Education

MDC Interior Solutions, Inc.

Greg’s diverse education and work experiences support his appreciation of the “grow or die” theory. Especially if that growth can spring from educational adaptiveness. Whether formal education (Columbia College, Univ of IL), trade education, or business experience/education (commercial real estate), the goal has always been to provide better learning experiences so that a motivated student can make efficient and thorough use of the accumulated knowledge and experience of others. Greg currently chairs the WIA Education Committee and the WA’s Tec Trac Committee. Through those roles, he has been able to push the industry forward through the development of new educational opportunities which were envisioned and then created by coordinating the often unrecognized resources of those institutions’ membership. A former Certified Paperhanger, Greg’s primary function is as Technical and Quality Director for one of the largest distributors of commercial wallcovering in the world. In that seat, his focus on the need to bring online trade knowledge to students who would otherwise find it geographically challenging to acquire that by any other means---has become a passion. “There is no reason that a student should miss out on the excellent opportunity to build a lifelong career by learning---wherever they are--from those who have already mastered this craft. That knowledge, forged from daily problem solving, is an extraordinary gift worth accepting.”

Phone: 847-437-4000

Email: [email protected]

Heidi Wright Mead

Director

Wright Mead, INC

Like many other installers, Heidi started out in a different career. She found that her chosen career was not fulfilling. She entered into the wallcovering installation field and immediately loved it. The craft was challenging but it also allowed her to express her creativity and earn a lucrative living.  Heidi has been mentored and trained with some of the finest installers through her years in the Wallcovering Installers Association and her awards and recognition show. She has given back in the form of teaching others as well as serving in many positions of responsibility which include the board of directors as well as the annual convention committee. Heidi lives the fact that the installation trade is an art which requires training and mentoring. She wants to see the Wallcovering Installer School grow and impart the skill to as many other installers as she can. She finds that enabling someone to “catch a fish is far better than giving one for a day”.

Phone: 510-541-9546

Email: [email protected]

Michael DiGilio

Treasurer

DiGilio Decorating

Mike lives in a western suburb of Chicago where he raised his family. He graduated from the University of Illinois in the late 70’s with a bachelor’s degree.  Mike entered his career by learning the trade of painting. With hard work and this skillset, Mike put himself through college but then continued full time after graduation. For Mike, wallcovering installation was a self-taught skill but after joining the Wallcovering Installers Association in 1990, he realized how difficult it is to break into this field without formal training or mentoring from other craftspeople.  Both his business and association with the WIA grew because of wanting to learn more. He has served the WIA Chicago Chapter as Vice-President and President. He also has served on many committees, helped develop the NGPP’s first website and went on to become a Region Director and then the WIA President.  Mike believes that to give back to a group that has given him so much is truly rewarding but he also believes that a formal pathway should be offered for creative people who are willing to work hard. Mike’s goal for the WIS is to create opportunities for anyone who has the desire to create a good life for themselves and their families through learning the installation trade. He is committed to supporting that goal.

Phone: 708-420-5899

Email: [email protected]

Nancy Terry

Executive Director

Wallcovering Installer School

Nancy graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. Devoted to the concept of lifelong learning, she earned a certification from the American Society of Association Executives as a Certified Association Executive and then a real estate sales licensure for the state of Ohio. After being in the business world for several years, she challenged her educational belief by earning a master’s in public administration. Most of her career has been in management of non-profit, not for-profit and government sector organizations. Her current undertaking is honing her skills with additional training in grant funding and administration. She volunteers for the Cincinnati Pit Crew, an organization committed to creating a compassionate culture for abused and stigmatized dogs as well as the Wallcovering Installer School. She is also a member of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. She brings her passion for association management to the office every single day and wants to see others succeed in their educational endeavors through the Wallcovering Installers School.

Email: [email protected]