The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) announced that Phil Chia, Director of Activities and School Equity at Des Moines Abraham Lincoln High School, has been recognized by the association as a Certified Athletic Administrator.

To earn this distinction, Phil has demonstrated the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the field of interscholastic athletic administration. The voluntary certification process included a thorough evaluation of the candidate’s educational background, experience and professional contributions, as well as a rigorous, comprehensive written examination.

“I have always valued the professional development offered through the NIAAA, and their course work has helped me grow in the athletic administration field as I work with our coaches and student athletes.” said Chia. “Being a member of the organization has provided a strong network of colleagues in which I’m able to collaborate with on activity related topics.”

He is one of an elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism.

The NIAAA is a national professional organization consisting of all 50 state athletic administrator associations and more than 12,000 individual members.  It is dedicated to promoting the professional growth of high school athletic administrators and preserving the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the secondary school curriculum.