Oakland California MTS Appraiser Elected International President for ASA

Editor’s Note: Garrett Schwartz, ASA, began his one-year term as International President for ASA on July 1, 2023. To learn more about our new leader, we sat down to ask a few questions.

ASA: Congratulations on your election. Can you tell us a little about your professional background?

Schwartz: I’m an Accredited Senior Appraiser in Machinery & Technical Specialties with Sencer Appraisal Associates. I’m based in Oakland, California, and have been an equipment appraiser for about sixteen years, valuing equipment for financial reporting, litigation, gift tax and estate planning, lending, and other purposes. I appraise many types of assets, but much of my work is in areas like construction, agriculture, manufacturing, food processing, metalworking, and medical equipment. Most of my work is in the United States, but I’ve valued assets for clients in Canada, Central and South America, Asia, and Europe. I’ve worked with a number of U.S. agencies, like the Department of Justice, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the U.S. military, as well as state and local governments across the U.S., and I regularly work with regional and national banks, charitable groups, attorneys, accountants, and business clients from sole proprietors to international Fortune 5 corporations.

In addition to my ASA credential, I’m also a Certified Equipment Appraiser with the Association of Machinery and Equipment Appraisers and am also a Financial Professional member of CalCPA.

ASA: How have you served ASA and the profession in the past?

Schwartz: I’ve been active in our Society for many years, starting with my involvement in the ASA NorCal chapter, where I was on the Board of Directors and served as chapter president. I was a member of ASA’s Machinery and Technical Specialties Committee and served as editor of the fourth edition of our equipment appraisal textbook, Valuing Machinery and Equipment: The Fundamentals of Appraising Machinery and Technical Assets, which was published in 2020. I’ve served as president of ASA’s International Chapter and as a member of several other ASA local, discipline, and international committees.

I served on the ASA Board of Governors as the Region Governor for the Western U.S. and Canada, Australia, and the Asian-Pacific Rim, and was elected as ASA International Secretary/Treasurer and then International Vice President.

ASA: Can you tell us a little about your personal background?

Schwartz: I’m from Columbus, Ohio, and went to The Ohio State University. (Go Bucks!). I move to Texas and then Los Angeles, and now live in Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area. After a decades-long break in my college education, I returned to school about 15 years ago and graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts. Then I stuck around and got a Master of Business Administration while also working on the ASA Principles of Valuation courses for my first appraisal accreditation. My wife, Caren, and I have two sons, Tate and Ezra, and in addition to my ASA service, I am also the vice president of my synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham, in Oakland.

ASA: What do you see as important to ASA and the appraisal profession?

Schwartz: I’ve been active in our Society because of how it both supports and raises the bar for appraisers. Our members have diverse needs and for ASA to thrive, we need to support that diversity. We need to ensure that chapters can flourish to support members locally, as that is the first and most accessible opportunity for many appraisers to meet other appraisers and recognize what a professional organization like ASA can offer. We are a multidisciplinary organization, and while that is a strength, we also need to be able to support the different needs of our six disciplines. ASA’s education has long been the strength of our Society, and we need to make sure we are adjusting to the times and staying on top of best practices to continue to be seen as the leader in appraisal education. And we need to ensure we provide opportunities for appraisers internationally while maintaining strong support for our members in North America.

Our Board of Governors has spent a lot of the last year focusing internally on restructuring and how our governance model works, and I’m hoping to refocus this year on our Society’s long-term strategy and how we can best serve our different disciplines, support the long-term success of our chapters, and continue to improve our education.

ASA helps set the standard in our profession internationally, and I feel that ASA’s growth and success are fundamental to our profession’s long-term success and appraisers like me.

ASA: Thanks for your time and sharing a little about yourself. Any closing thoughts?

Schwartz: It’s a privilege and an honor to serve as ASA International President. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to working with our Board of Governors and our chapter, discipline and committee leaders over the next year, and I hope to see everyone in person or online at the upcoming 2023 ASA International Conference, October 1-3, at the Sheraton New Orleans.