Megan Dawson-Elli graduated Cum Laude from UD in 2016 with a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising. While at the university she was a Resident Assistant, studied abroad in Hong Kong, and helped form UD's student chapter of the American Association of Textiles Chemists and Colorists (AATCC). Megan also was a Young Menswear Association Fashion Scholarship Fund two-time winner and a semi-finalist for the National Retail Federation's Next Generation Scholarship.

Megan is an Assistant Merchant for the Dresses and Woven Tops teams at LOFT. Her responsibilities include assisting her teams with various steps in the product life cycle including line building, creating hindsight documents, and working within the assortment sheet to ensure accurate information throughout the process.  She works with design, planning, and sourcing teams as products move from concepts to being sold in stores. Specifically Megan works with the e-commerce channel which involves communicating with website builders and assisting with the merchandising of products online. Megan's favorite parts of her job at LOFT are working with great people and continuously learning more about the fashion industry. 

​Kamryn Mogul is a Production Associate Manager of Handbags and SLGs at Tory Burch, LLC. She graduated from UD in 2014 with a BS in Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising. At Tory Burch Kamryn oversees all steps of product development and production, beginning with the first design and continuing through product delivery to the DC’s and accounts. She works as a liaison between design, merchandising, sales, logistics, and the factories. Kamryn diligently communicates with overseas factories on a day to day basis. When speaking with the factories she relays all information for product changes, creates purchase orders, negotiates pricing and ship modes, and follows up on each style to ensure production is on schedule. She is notified of all delays and suggests solutions in order to maintain on time delivery performance. Kamryn also reviews TOP’s throughout production and is accountable for product integrity. Previously to her current role on the Handbag and Accessories team, Kamryn worked on the production team in shoes with Tory Burch. She has also worked in ready to wear as she began her career with Ralph Lauren on the women’s polo knits team in 2014. Outside of Tory Burch Kamryn is an avid winter sports enthusiast including skiing and hiking, while also sharing a love for boating and beach trips during the summer months.

​Ashley Paintsil is the Director of Editorial Content and Outreach at FashInvest. She graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising. As a content strategist for emerging fashion and beauty companies, she has a passion for discovering new talent in the fashion tech, design and business spaces and bringing their stories to light.

​Ashley has enjoyed a lucrative career at Macy’s for the last five years. She currently holds a position as a Product Manager at Macy’s Merchandising Group (MMG). MMG operates as the private brand division of Macy’s Inc.. Ashley’s responsibilities include: identifying “white-space” opportunities in the market, designing product around that need, and partnering with overseas and domestic suppliers to source exclusive assortments. Her role as a Product Manager involves intense collaboration with many cross-functional partners including designers, overseas and domestic suppliers, logistics, marketing, buyers and planners.

Ashley utilizes her undergraduate degree daily to analyze merchandise performance and negotiate costing for new styles to achieve competitive pricing and strategic mark-up targets. Combining these skills helps in the development of sourcing strategies which assists the buyers in placing appropriate assortments that fit the brand DNA.Ashley attributes a large part of her strength as a leader at Macy’s to her education at University of Delaware. During her time at University of Delaware, she was a major contributor to the Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies and held various leadership positions including President of the Fashion Merchandising Club, treasurer of the Garment District, and a professor’s assistant in the merchandise buying and assortment planning course. Ashley conducted multiple, extensive research projects including consumer misbehavior during Black Friday as well as online visual merchandising cues in relation to retailers’ website performance. These processes gave her an in depth experience of the retail industry which has strengthened her merchandising skills and helped her put the customer in the forefront of all of her decisions.

Prior to her career with MMG, Ashley interned at French Connection. She also developed a great background of the retail industry during her time as a Visual Manager at Guess Inc. gaining a wealth of experience in customer service and merchandising the sales floor.

Ashley’s participation in UD’s study abroad program has also prepared her for overseas travel in her current role.Ashley has experienced three promotions during her five year tenure at MMG. She is well regarded by upper management and her co-workers and accredits much of her success to the amazing education she received at the University of Delaware. We are proud to call Ashley a University of Delaware Fashion & Apparel Studies alumni graduating Cum Laude in 2011 with a B.A. in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Fine Art.

Marielle Newman graduated from UD in 2007 with an Honor's degree in Fashion Merchandising and minor in Leadership. She was the first UD student to cross over between the Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies and the Department of Chemical Engineering for her Undergraduate Research on the Liquid Body Armor project under Dr. Norman Wagner. She was also a Russell Fellow and studied abroad in Australia.

5​ days after graduating, Marielle started her career at Under Armour in Baltimore, Maryland and has been with the company since. She has had many roles in Color Development and is currently the Color Analytics Manager, responsible for all data and tracking related to Color. She has been instrumental in implementing best-in-industry processes and achieving company-best service levels.

Marielle lives in Baltimore with her husband Benjamin Schiffman and their hairless cat Chewbacca. Benjamin and Marielle met while at UD when their dorm rooms were next to each other (#doubledels). Benjamin graduated in 2008 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently a Patent Examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Ever since I was fairly young, I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in fashion – the idea of trends, outfitting, and expressing yourself through clothing has always appealed to me.  I am currently the DMM of Tops and Activewear for Motherhood Maternity at Destination Maternity.  I manage a team of 4 buyers and it is our responsibility to create and build balanced assortments of clothing that meet not only the financial needs of our company, but also the needs of our customers.  We need to create and buy product that is trend-right, yet commercial, and will make our customer look and feel great while wearing it. 

After graduating from the University of Delaware in 2004, I immediately moved to NYC and began a career as a Junior Merchandiser of Accessories for Liz Claiborne.  I continued on with Liz until 2009 where I was promoted to Merchandiser and then Sr. Merchandiser of Handbags, and then Merchandise Manager of Apparel.  After an exciting career in wholesale, I decided I wanted to tackle the world of retail and made the transition to Ann Taylor.  I began as the Buyer of Sweaters and was then promoted to Sr. Buyer of Sweaters and Knit Tops.  My career at Ann Taylor taught me how to become the connector between the financial and creative aspects of the business, and how to become the true voice of the client.  My experiences in this industry have taken me all over the world, I have met many influential people and I would not trade my career or college experience for anything in the world.  The University of Delaware gave me invaluable experiences through study abroad, internships, and classes in buying, business, and public speaking that have shaped who I am today as a merchant and manager.

After nearly a decade in New York, I made the decision to transition back to Delaware (which was home before college), and I now live in Wilmington with my husband, while working for Destination Maternity.

​Colleen McCann is a 2002 graduate of University of Delaware. After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Apparel Design she began her career by designing for the then budding performance brand, Under Armour. Colleen currently works as a Visual DNA consultant in the fashion & beauty industries in New York & Los Angeles. Through her career, Colleen has had the opportunity to work for such global brands as Badgley Mischka, Betsy Johnson, Calvin Klein, Conde Nast, L'Oreal, Nordstrom and many more. On any given day you can find Colleen running to photo shoot sets for major magazine outlets or hopping into meetings consulting on the style direction for global brands.

Martha L. Hall, MS is the Head Designer for the SuperSuits program in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Delaware, and is a PhD student in the Biomechanics and Movement Science program.  She received her BS in Apparel Design and MS in Fashion & Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware.  With more than ten years of apparel industry and costume experience, Martha’s design and construction expertise has been central to the FUNctional fashion and wearable technology projects under the SuperSuits program and GoBabyGo group.  Her research interests include dress and identity, and the integration of assistive technology with apparel, specifically through (1) functional co-design: creating user-centered expressive garments that combine “fun & function,” and (2) wearable technology: designing garments with embedded technology to track, support, and assist mobility.

​Nga Nguyen has a combined Bachelor of Science degree in Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising with an Art minor in Surface Design from the University of Delaware (1999) and an MFA in Interaction Design from the school of Visual Arts (2015).

As a UX Design Technologist, Nga strives to understand human behavior, emotions along with best practice of design process and system thinking to bring a holistic approach to create delightful products and services for our ever-changing world. Nga is a current Entrepreneur in Residence supported by the Kauffman Grant at NYDesigns, an incubator and accelerator Design + Tech maker space that helps startups and entrepreneurs grow their business through mentorship, workshops, networking, and business strategy. Along with support from the executive director, Nga currently works with General Vibration, a startup with 11 issued patents on its haptic technology with its potential impact in the automobile, audio, virtual/augmented reality, wearable, and wellness market.

Until the Spring of 2014, Nga has been a women’s RTW collection designer always thinking how a woman dynamically presents herself through the power of style using clothing as her medium as she navigates her life through a change of her wardrobe. This point of view to designing clothes has successfully launched her career with brands such as Eileen Fisher Inc., Chico's FAS, Macy's Merchandising Group, and Jockey International Inc. to name a few. Along the way, she was approached to collaborate and co-founded two clothing labels: Baby Lady, Ltd. launched in 2001 and was sold in 24 boutiques nationwide and in 2009 created rock+moss, a small run, unisex, modern, hand knit sweater line with each piece signed promoting craft from a small group of Artisans; intentful to encourage the aspect of human connection and bringing meaning into the products we buy. On the side, Nga practices Aikido and teaches yoga in New York City to complement her creativity. Her work can be found at www.nganycdesign.com

She has more than 20 years’ experience in technology for the fashion industry and has worked at Lectra, Gerber Technology, Karat Software, Cross Creek Apparel, and Perigee Software in marketing, communication, product development and sales roles. Anastasia or Stacey, as her friends call her, joined Centric in 2015. 

Stacey holds Bachelor of Science degrees in business administration and apparel design from the University of Delaware, and a Master of Science degree in textile and apparel management from North Carolina State University. She is an advisory board member with the University of Delaware’s Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies and a member of the North Carolina Textile Foundation’s board of directors.

A self professed fashion and technology junkie, she has lived and worked in the United States, Canada, and France and has traveled around the world. She now teeters around in her high heels around Paris where she lives with her family. In her spare time, she trades her high heels for sneakers and runs.

​Paula Zusi is an accomplished senior executive in the apparel industry with over 30 years of experience. Currently, she is the Global Operations Advisor - Retail Supply Chain for Advent International, a global private equity firm with $30B under management. In this capacity, Paula advises Advent's retail portfolio companies on supply chain operations. Prior to joining Advent, Paula was the EVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer of Ann Inc., parent company of the Ann Taylor and Loft brands, a $2.5B specialty retailer with over 1000 stores in North America. In this role, she had responsibility for the end to end supply chain, from product development through distribution. Previously, Paula held a number of senior executive roles including Corporate Vice President of Sourcing and Manufacturing at Liz Claiborne, Inc., where she had sourcing oversight for more than 30 brands, including Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans and Kate Spade. Paula holds a bachelors degree from University of Delaware, and is an active Advisory Board member of the College of Fashion and Apparel Studies. Paula is also Vice Chairman of the American Apparel and Footwear Association.