Ella Van Nort is director of the FIDM Scholarship Foundation and director of retail operations, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles, CA. She oversees the institute’s two bookstores, museum shop, scholarship store, café, two retail websites, and all campus purchasing, with 10 FTE employees and 20 student workers.

Van Nort has been with FIDM since 1997, serving as a faculty member and lead instructor, writing curriculum, and teaching faculty in the areas of buying, merchandise, math, and assortment planning, before taking over the institute’s stores. Previously, she spent more than 15 years in apparel retailing, as a buyer of bridge dresses for Lord & Taylor department stores, a buyer of designer sportswear for Dillard’s, and then managing director for Polo Ralph Lauren. She holds an associate degree in fashion design and a bachelor’s in fashion merchandising from the American College, London, England.

Her volunteer service with NACS includes serving as president-elect on the NACS Board of Trustees for the past year; she was also a board member for three years before that. She has chaired the NACS Education Committee, and also served on the NACS Government and Industry Relations Committee (2019-2021) and the NACS Finance and Budget Committee (2021-present). She has been a frequent CAMEX presenter on sessions dealing with open-to-buy, merchandising, and retail math. She created the three-day Buyers Institute for the California Association of College Stores. She has also been involved with the National Retail Federation Foundation in assisting with student competitions and scholarships and with the Museum Stores Association.

“Although it has been a challenging time in our industry, it is also a very exciting time. The pandemic taught us that we need to be open for change, and in the last few years we have embraced change, and we are stronger for it,” she said. “Thank you for your continued support and commitment to NACS, and I look forward to working with you all to bring NACS forward as we continue to embrace the changes in our industry, together.”

Debbie Cottrell is manager of the UMHB Campus Store, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX. The small institutional store, located in the student center, has five full-time staff members and is a vital part of the UMHB campus community.

Cottrell has worked in the college store industry for 31 years, starting out as textbook manager for Ratcliffe’s Medical Books in Oklahoma City, OK, and later also served as assistant store manager for Ratcliffe’s Textbooks in Norman, OK, working concurrently at both locations. Relocating to central Texas provided an opportunity to serve as textbook manager for Connell Book Services dba Southwestern University Bookstore in Georgetown, TX. In 2001, she joined the UMHB Campus Store as manager, and was recognized in 2015 with the UMHB Outstanding Staff Award. She holds an associate in applied science degree in computer information systems from Rose State College, Midwest City, OK, and a bachelor of professional studies from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

She has served on the NACS Board of Trustees since 2021. Her NACS service also includes numerous NACS committees, including CAMEX Host Committee, NACS Monthly Planner Work Group, NACS Course Materials Committee, NACS Course Materials and Intellectual Property Council (chair 2011-13), NACS Education Committee, NACS CCR Item-Writing work group, and NACS Certification Council. She has often been a session speaker or panelist at CAMEX and assisted with other on-site volunteer duties.

Cottrell has also been active with the Southwest College Bookstore Association, serving on its board, including three terms as president (2016-17, 2019-20, and 2020-21). She has also been a speaker and panelist for SWCBA events, represented SWCBA at state and regional leadership events, and contributed to the SWCBA newsletter. In 2019, she was honored with the SWCBA Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Due to the current state of higher education, declining enrollments, budget shortfalls, and few revenue centers on today’s campuses, campus administrators continually review how to cut costs. I sincerely believe advocacy is the most important priority,” she said. “The campus store industry needs an entity actively assisting stores with the tools needed to stay independent and successful. A strong advocacy program helps college stores in the development of needed strategic partnerships, and provides the tools for stores to seek ways to continue being an important part of the campus culture.”

Bethany Meyer is operations manager at The Maverick Store, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction. The store has four FTE employees with a $3.7 million budget.

Meyer has been operations manager since 2015. She previously was general manager of Rags Consignments for two years, and before that spent four years as an independent retail consultant, drawing on her 12 years’ of experience in various roles (including senior manager real estate and marketing/franchise coordinator) with Fresh Produce Sportswear. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from the University of Colorado Boulder and a master of business administration from Colorado Mesa University.

At CMU, she is chair of the MBA Alumni Chapter and serves on the Student Advisory Council for the Davis School of Business. She also was a member of the Community Planning Board for the city of Grand Junction and volunteers with the United Way of Mesa County.

“The relevancy and profitability of college stores is critical to the NACS mission. The collegiate market is getting squeezed by a multitude of factors including changes within publishing and diminishing margins,” she said, adding, “By addressing the needs of the collegiate market and sharing best business practices, NACS can help university store teams create forward-thinking, profitable retail environments that offer dynamic shopping experiences.”

Allison Hartel is assistant director for marketing and outreach at the CU Book Store/CU Retail Services, University of Colorado Boulder. The institutional store has 25 FTE employees and a budget of $11 million.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing emphasis, from the University of Northern Colorado. She was a marketing assistant for Durrant Architects before joining CU Book Store as marketing manager in 1999. She was promoted to her current position in 2003.

Hartel has been serving on the NACS Board since 2020. She also served on the NACS Foundation Board of Directors (2017-20) and has been a member of many NACS committees and councils over the last 11 years, including NACS Education Committee, Leadership & Business Stewardship Council chair, Leadership Institute Steering Committee, College Store Leadership & Operations Council, Leadership & Human Resources Council member and chair, and NACS Nominating Committee. In addition, she’s been active with the Rocky Mountain Skyline Bookstore Association, serving as president, past president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, trustee, and Education Committee chair.

“I see NACS’ major priority as assisting college stores and higher education entities with the course materials transition and affordability. This includes government relations and advocacy, education to both college stores and campus administration, and working with publishers and other industry constituents/vendors,” she said, adding that the college store is “an integral part of the campus and the course materials process and at the same time is the heart of campus, promoting school spirit through other products. We also provide a space for students to gain work experience and provide support for the campus.”