Bill Ackmann l Back to office staff page 
Bill is the Finance and Accounting Manager at NACA. He was born and raised in the small town of Muskego, Wisconsin. Having his degree in the Accounting field, he started working for a food wholesaler located in Milwaukee, WI. Over 20 years, he moved up from the Retail Store Accounting to Corporate Accounting and then Division Accounting.
When he and Donna, his wife for 36 years, moved to South Carolina in the spring of 1998, they started on a new adventure. When the company he was working at for 3 years when out of business, he was offered a job at NACA. The 10 years he has been working here have been very rewarding.
Bill and Donna have 3 cats, Baby, Charles and Dickens. He thinks all three should have been named Dickens! "They own the house. We just pay the mortgage," he says. They enjoy taking day trips, finding places to hike, and also do volunteer work for their church.
Angela Andrews l Back to office staff page
Angela is the Finance and Accounting Coordinator in the Accounting Department at NACA. She has been working for National Association for Campus Activities since December 2002.
She is responsible for all accounts receivable activities for NACA and NACA Foundation. Her main duties have included those pertaining to memberships, regional conferences, the National Convention, NACA Institutes, and advertising.
Angela is married with one adoring, unforgettable daughter. When not working, she loves shopping, basketball, and experimental cooking and baking.
Judy Bailey l Back to office staff page
Judy's responsibilities in the accounting department include paying the bills, reimbursing expenses and balancing the checking accounts.
She is a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey and a graduate of Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, DE. The degree she received at “Goldey” prepared her for a 30 year accounting career in the insurance industry. Most recently, she has worked in the non-profit arena since 2001. Her career at NACA began in September 2006.
As an avid bowler, she has worked with the youth bowling programs in Columbia and at the state level. For the last 18 years, she has been the state tournament director for the Pepsi Youth Championships for South Carolina that has 900+ youth bowlers competing for scholarships.
Judy is married her high school sweetheart, Lee, while he was a student at NC State University in Raleigh, NC. She earned her “PHT” (Put Hubby Through) and she's still a “Wolfpack Girl” at heart and an avid fan. (They were at NC State when the Wolfpack won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in 1974. GO PACK!)
Brenda Baker l Back to office staff page
Brenda joined the staff of NACA in January 2007 as the Director of Finance and Administration.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and an Associate Degree in Accounting and has worked in the not-for-profit accounting field for more than 20 years. For ten years prior to coming to NACA, she worked for a national association of public television stations handling accounting and financial reporting for several member television stations.
Brenda and her husband, Dave, enjoy traveling and spending time with friends and family. They also enjoy music and dancing. She has one son who is married and has two children. Spending time with her grandchildren is her most enjoyable pasttime.
Amy Blanchard l Back to office staff page
Things to know about this Coordinator of NACA Member Relating:
· Native to the great state of South Carolina. Born in the rolling foothills of the upstate and found her way to the big city of Cola-Vegas/Columbia 10 years ago.
· Plundered down various paths before finding her calling with NACA. For almost 2 years (minus a regretful 5-month hiatus), she has joyfully spent her time directing the NACA newbies on their paths to success.
· When not perfecting her NACA registration skills, she enjoys country fried steak with thick gravy (and biscuits, of course), dueling banjo concerts, mashed taters, grits, pig pickin’ festivities, and long walks on the beach at sunset.
· Alternate areas of expertise include: Twizzler craving reconciliation, home-made baked creations, Lifetime made-for-TV-movies, and mocking her much appreciated Southern Culture.
Amy looks forward to many more years with NACA and interacting with all of the wonderful NACA members, staff, and volunteers.
Christine Condon l Back to office staff page
Introducing Christine Condon, your demure Member Relations Coordinator.
She's a displaced yankee in a land of sweet tea drinkers; a hockey fan in a snow-free zip code. She loves music, but can’t carry a tune (really, be in the car next to her at a stoplight, she double-dog dares you). It is her firm belief that there are only a handful of foods that should not be used as a vehicle for cheese and, if used correctly, diet coke can sustain a human for months. Christine love politics, but thinks it would all be more fun if elections were replaced by a cross-country scavenger hunt. Jeopardy is her favourite game show, except for the kid’s tournament… oh the humanity!
Her wicked groovy skill sets include: finding obscure holidays for every day of the year, decorating co-workers’ offices, and Peanut wrangling.
Alan Davis l Back to office staff page
Alan has served as Executive Director of the National Association for Campus Activities since 1996. As Executive Director, he is responsible for working with Association volunteer leaders and members in the implementation of the Association’s strategic plan, and in managing the NACA Office. Davis devotes considerable time to the expansion and refinement of NACA’s relationships with the higher education and entertainment environments.
Prior to joining NACA, Davis was Associate Vice President for Campus Services at Tulane University (LA). Davis has been involved in several national and local organizations, including the South Carolina Society of Association Executives, the National Association of College Auxiliary Services and the Columbia Council for Internationals.
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Stetson University (FL), and attended the Management Development Program of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Dionne Ellison l Back to office staff page
Dionne joined NACA in 1994 and has since worked in various departments within the organization. As the Education and Research Manager, Dionne supports many of the organization’s education and professional development programs on the national and regional level.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of South Carolina. Dionne has one beautiful 12 year old daughter, whom she loves very much. On the weekends you will find Dionne hanging out with family and friends or relaxing in front of a TV watching The Food Network.
Glenn Farr l Back to office staff page
A long, long time ago in a galaxy so near you can call it your own, Glenn joined the NACA Office staff as editor of Campus Activities Programming™ magazine, a position he still holds. He works with NACA volunteers, like you, to develop ideas and articles that appear in the magazine to the benefit of students, professionals and others with interests in the campus activities field. Additionally, he compiles and edits content for the annual National Convention Program, as well as for the bi-weekly electronic Professional Staff enewsletter.
Glenn holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and was once a country music deejay. He has also lent his voice to retail commercials and recordings for the blind. A former newspaper reporter and editor, he received a South Carolina Press Association award for a column he wrote about his boyhood love of his father’s 1956 Ford Fairlane. He was also honored for outstanding agricultural reporting. (Once, to photograph how drought had affected area corn crops, he leaned out of an open-cockpit single-engine plane.) During his tenure as editor of Campus Activities Programming™ and the National Convention Program, both publications have been recognized on multiple occasions as “Best in the Business” by the South Carolina Society of Association Executives.
These days, Glenn devotes his time to safer pursuits, mainly sci-fi and British television programs and films, acting in and directing area live theatre productions, and developing original novels, at least one of which he ultimately hopes to have published.
Barbara Heyward l Back to office staff page
Barbara is the Member Relations Assistant, a new kid on the block joining the NACA family in March 2010.
Her primary function is to be the first point of contact for incoming calls to the association's main office and toll free numbers and maintain current information on NACA's ongoing activities. The Member Relations Assistant is also responsible for other administrative tasks which support the NACA office.
Barbara is a retiree from the Dept of Education where she worked for 28 years. She has three lovely daughters and three lovely granddaughters. When not working she loves singing on the church choir and spending time with friends and family.
Paige Jeffcoat I Back to office staff page
After serving in EVERY leadership position under the sun at the University of South Carolina Aiken, Paige semi-joined the NACA family by working for NACA’s subsidiary, Campus Entertainment. After a year, the staff realized how awesome she was and coaxed her to come over to the dark side with promises of a front row parking space, an office out of the mailroom, and a free “office field trip” every February around Valentine’s Day.
As NACA's Foundation Development Coordinator, you can find her charming the pants off of NACA members for life savings donations to the NACA Foundation, and hyperventilating in CAMP at Convention when meeting Hanson.
In her free time, you can find her applying for reality television shows, jamming out to Britney Spears, quoting Harry Potter, chop blocking girls during the bouquet toss at weddings, and stalking you on Facebook.
Jason Jeffers l Back to office staff page
Jason Jeffers came to NACA by way of the University of South Carolina. Before that he attended Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in New York and freelanced as a photographer for the Daily Bugle. Now a graphic designer for NACA, he still finds time to play video games, watch sports, waste money on DVDs and comic books, and even draw the occasional cartoon.
His favorite movies include Soylent Green, The Apartment, Goodfellas, Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Step Brothers and Big Trouble in Little China. The last good books he read were I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly and the Family Stone and the first two volumes of Planetary. His office is filled with production orders, art supplies and CDs (most of them funk, classic rock or glam.)
Katie McCuen l Back to office staff page
Katie joined the NACA staff in October 2010 as a junior in college. She was looking for a good fit for an internship that would give her the skills needed in the real world, which she hears is a bit scary. She was so glad to join the staff and find her niche as the Online Marketing Intern.
Last February, she was privileged enough to go to the National Convention in St. Louis. She felt like a deer in headlights and it was amazing! It was one of her favorite memories of her junior year and time at NACA. Now, a big bad senior at the University of South Carolina, she is working hard to graduate in May, taking the usual 18 hour course load, working, and staying involved on campus. She says it’s not bad because being busy keeps her focused!
When she’s not editing the website or being the “NACA twitter girl”, she enjoys her design work, art, theatre, watching horror films, and having her usual soy chai with two pumps of peppermint. Her goal in life is to wake up to a new creative task every day and to live artwardly!
Kerrie Newell l Back to office staff page
Kerrie Newell is a seasoned professional with more than 10 years of experience in nonprofit event management, project coordination, governance and administration. She is native to Columbia, South Carolina and an alumnus from the University of South Carolina.
After graduation, Kerrie began her career at The South Carolina Bar in the Continuing Legal Education division and found her passion for event planning. She continued to hone her skills at the Southern Institute on Children & Families and Central Carolina Community Foundation.
Kerrie is the youngest of four daughters and is very close with her family. During her spare time, she loves to fish and play pool.
Tracey Portillo l Back to office staff page
Tracey is the Advertising Sales Representative for the NACA publications.
Raised in Richmond, VA, Tracey spent her freshman year at Ferrum College before transferring to and eventually graduating from Westhampton College at the University of Richmond in her home town. With a degree in Women’s Studies, she started her first “real job” in Boston, MA, but eventually made her way back down to the Mid Atlantic region. Tracey lived in Herndon, VA, for several years and that is where she met her husband. They now live Newport News, VA, where she juggles her position with NACA along with raising their 3 1/3 year old son, her 2 teenage stepdaughters and a 7-year-old beagle.
In her spare time (oh, that’s funny) she enjoys cooking, playing with her son and occasionally playing racquetball with her husband. She has lofty ambitions to garden, take up camping and own a coffee shop… all are goals in progress so please feel free to ask for updates!
Cherie Prince l Back to office staff page
Cherie is the Executive Assistant, providing administrative support services for the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and Member Services Offices of NACA.
Prior to joining NACA in 2010, Cherie provided project and database management services in Georgia at one of “America’s Best High Schools” by Newsweek Magazine, and worked in the heart of Buckhead during the 1996 Olympics supporting human resource functions in corporate healthcare.
Cherie is a fan of the Atlanta Braves, enjoys running, swimming and spending time with her Boxer dog and best friend, “Violet”.
Sandra Rouse l Back to office staff page
Sandra is the Director of Education and Research. She comes to NACA after working 14 years in Higher Education and Student Affairs.
She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Columbia College and a Master’s degree in Student Personnel Services with an emphasis in Counseling at the University of South Carolina. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
A “retired” dancer, when she’s not working, she can be found with Orangeburg Civic Ballet, where she is Chair of the Board of Directors and choreographer.
Gordon Schell l Back to office staff page
Gordon is NACA’s Director of Business Relations, supporting the association in the areas of showcasing and exhibiting, Block Booking and sponsorship efforts. Gordon loves his NACA job and the challenging opportunities it offers. He especially enjoys working with NACA’s amazing volunteers on the national and regional level.
He has been with NACA since 1997, moving to the thriving metropolis of Columbia, SC from the also-thriving metropolis of Billings, MT where he worked as director of student activities and student union and Montana State University-Billing. Prior to that he worked as assistant director of student activities at Tulane University in New Orleans. Gordon received his bachelor’s in communication at Lamar University (TX) and his master’s in education from the University of South Carolina.
Gordon has been married to his college sweetheart since 1986 and they live in a cozy house with their super dog, Tucker. Having spent a great deal of his life in southeast Texas and Louisiana, Gordon likes his coffee strong and his food bold. While he can’t actually eat his entire weight in crawfish, he has been known to try. He loves Tarantino movies and music that has “meat on its bones,” especially blues, funk and R&B. When not working, Gordon enjoys painting, yard work and volunteering with his church.
Mark Sury l Back to office staff page
Mark is NACA’s Information Technology Manager. He came to NACA in June of 2011 from the private sector.
Mark served 10 with the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserve. During the ten years, Mark spent time in Texas, Mississippi, Spain, England, Maine, Colorado, Arizona, and Turkey. He completed his AS degree in Electronic Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVRY Institute of Technology in Phoenix, AZ.
After graduation, Mark moved to the Columbia SC area where he worked for FN Manufacturing LLC for the next 15+ years. While at FN, Mark earned his Master of Arts degree in Business from Webster University.
Mark and wife Carol make their home in the midlands with their teenage daughter and preteen son. The entire family claims the Gamecocks as “their” team. When not at work, Mark enjoys RV camping with the family, woodworking, and fixing up the family’s “This old house”.
Dawn Thomas l Back to office staff page
Dawn has been with NACA since August 1997 when she was hired as Director of Research and Educational Program Services. Thomas currently serves as Director of Membership Marketing and Events. A native of the St. Louis area, Dawn transplanted to South Carolina from Indiana in 1994 to work at the University of South Carolina. Prior to working at NACA, she supervised women’s housing and on-campus Greek housing at the University of South Carolina.
Dawn completed her bachelor’s in business administration at Southeast Missouri State University with a major in Accounting. Thomas received her master’s in education from Eastern Illinois University with an emphasis in college student personnel. She has completed all coursework and passed the comprehensive exam for a PhD in higher education administration at the University of South Carolina.
Dawn and her husband reside in Irmo with their three children. Dawn enjoys Gamecock Football, BBQs and tailgating, spending time with her family. She is also an avid follower of the Tour de France, Chicago Bulls and Indianapolis Colts.
Wes Wikel l Back to office staff page
Wes is one of the newest additions to the NACA office, coming on board as the Online Marketing Manager in April 2011.
While many members of the staff come from a campus activities background, Wes comes from the "other side of the tracks" so to speak. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in Media Arts, he spent the next eight years touring the country as a member of the bands Pause For Effect and Everything After. After performing more than 500 live shows and releasing 3 studio albums (or whatever you call them nowadays), a change was in order. As glamorous as living in a van with four other guys and eating junior bacon cheeseburgers everyday sounds, Wes decided get off the road and return to school, where he earned a certification in Web Design & Development.
When he is not being an internet and computer geek for NACA, Wes enjoys spending time with his wife and their oversized black lab, playing music, following his beloved Gamecocks, listening to stand-up comedy, and grilling (and subsequently devouring) various cuts of red meat...
Latrice Williams l Back to office staff page
Latrice joined NACA in July 2011. With close to 20 years in public relations and event coordination, she has managed a variety of public awareness campaigns. Her most memorable moments in her career were working with the Nickelodeon TV network on a national volunteer campaign and meeting musicians Dr. John, George Clinton and P Funk, Boney James and Joe Sample during her tenure with the 3Rivers Music Festival. Latrice has served as the senior editor for a statewide business magazine, director of communications for a non-profit and public relations manager for a communications firm.
She enjoys spending time with her musician husband and her daughter playing tennis, reading, and listening to live music.