WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 6, 2025 — The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) announces the promotion of Nate Herman to Executive Vice President, guiding the directives of the membership and Board of Directors alongside AAFA President and CEO Steve Lamar.
Herman assumes this role from Senior Vice President, Policy, where he oversees the policy department, managing its lobbying, policy, and regulatory affairs activities.
For the past two decades, Herman has been an essential force behind AAFA’s trade advocacy, product safety, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, formulating and implementing CSR policy and representing the industry on CSR issues before governments, NGOs, and other key stakeholders. During this time, Herman’s purpose-driven leadership has achieved dozens of wins on behalf of the membership, including measures to pass meaningful trade preference programs, support U.S. manufacturing, halt burdensome regulations, encourage harmonization to the THREADS Protocol, and expand the industry’s intellectual property protections while fighting illicit trade.
“Our members navigate incredibly complex hurdles in their efforts to design, make, and distribute safe, authentic, responsibly made, ethically-sourced, and affordable products for U.S. consumers. These members look to Nate Herman for his expertise, vision, integrity, and reach in Washington. His natural move into this role is a win-win for the association and the membership,” said Steve Lamar, AAFA President and CEO.
“I am delighted to have the continued trust of the AAFA membership. I cherish this opportunity to step forward in a meaningful way as we continue to highlight the contributions of U.S.-based apparel, footwear, accessories, and travel goods companies, honing our strategic priorities while drawing attention to public policy impacts on fashion’s contributions to the global economy. In this role, I will continue to map out and refine the core values and collective voice of our industry and our continuous path of improvement,” said Nate Herman, AAFA Executive Vice President.
Prior to joining AAFA, Herman worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration assisting U.S. firms in entering the global market. Herman spent the final two years as the Commerce Department’s industry analyst for the footwear and travel goods industries.
This year, AAFA is celebrating 25 years since merging the American Apparel and Manufacturers Association (AAMA), Footwear Industries of America (FIA), and The Fashion Association. The association’s roots go back much further, as several of these merger partners can trace their heritage back to the mid-1800s. United under the AAFA umbrella, these once disparate groups now share a collective voice for education, advocacy, research, and networking opportunities to ensure this industry and its workers can compete in the global economy.
Posted: October 6, 2025
Source: The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)