The Why of the Buy

Lorynn Divita is an associate professor of apparel merchandising in the Department of Human Sciences and Design at Baylor University, where she has been a member of faculty since 2002. She is the author of Fashion Forecasting 5th ed. (Bloomsbury) and numerous academic journal articles. Dr. Divita has presented her research nationally and internationally.

Patricia Mink Rath, MS, is a consultant in marketing education in Winnetka, Illinois. Her fashion merchandising experience includes work as a retail executive in the fashion departments of specialty and department stores in the Chicago area, Boston, and San Francisco. She has taught college level courses in fashion marketing and merchandising, consumer behavior, retail buying and management, French culture and language for over three decades. Fluent in French, she has led fashion merchandising classes in Paris and Provence. Mink Rath has traveled in Europe, Central America, and Asia and gives illustrated lectures on fashion in both English and French. She is a lifetime member of the Alliance Francaise du North Shore, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and the Marketing Education Association (MEA).

Stefani Bay, MA, ITAA, is an Associate Professor in the Marketing and Management Department at the Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago. Her interests include the psycho-social/cultural implications of dress and their connection to the formation of consumption patterns. She is currently a freelance writer and speaker, as well as owner and head designer of Stefani B jewelry. Bay previously owned and operated a chain of vertically integrated retail stores that sold her exclusive line of women's wear, and served as Public Relations Director for several upscale restaurant groups, all of which have enabled her to deliver experience-based education to her students.

Penny Gill is a writer/editor and President of PWG Communications Inc. marketing communications consultants based in White Plains, New York. Her experience in both trade journalism and public relations/marketing communications encompasses the apparel/accessories, home furnishings, and retailing fields, among other industries. She has contributed to publications including Stores, HFN, Apparel Industry Magazine, and Furniture Today, and has provided PR/marketing communications services to clients in the fashion, healthcare, non-profit, and other fields, including Du Pont Textile Fibers division, Fisher-Price, National Retail Federation, and many others. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Richard Petrizzi, MBA, is an Associate Professor in the Marketing and Management Department at the Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago. He is a member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the National Speakers Association (NSA), the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA), and Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Petrizzi's experiences as an entrepreneur, contract trainer, and administrator have provided him with a strong foundation for creating a results-driven and learner-centered pedagogical environment. His research interests include topics in communications, negotiations, consumer behavior, professional selling, and emotional intelligence.