During his tenure with the National Restaurant Association (NRA), Nolan has created several training programs targeted toward culinary education for secondary school teachers. He also has helped develop the National ProStart Invitational, the NRA's culinary and restaurant management competition for ProStart students. At this competition, he oversees a team consisting of 14 culinary professionals and post-secondary judges who evaluate the student competitors in the culinary side of the competition.
ProStart is a career-building program for high school students who are interested in culinary arts or foodservice management. It is supported by the NRA. For more information, visit prostart.restaurant.org.