Introducing The Newest Faces at ABA!

Join us in welcoming ABA’s newest team members! Here are a few new folks you might not know who will be making their debut at Winter Institute.

Cassie Youngstrom, Education Project Coordinator

Cassie Youngstrom (she/her) is the Education Project Coordinator at the American Booksellers Association. Prior to joining ABA, she spent seven years teaching high school special education in New York City. When she isn’t working or chasing her baby daughter around, she enjoys reading literary fiction and literary criticism, writing music, petting any/all cats, and watching movies about New York City in the ‘70s.

Cedar Fields, Member Relations and Registration Coordinator

Cedar Fields (they/them) is the Member Relations and Registration Coordinator at ABA. Before joining the membership team, they were a bookseller at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix, AZ and a manager at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI. As a frontline bookseller, they worked in digital content creation, events, and e-commerce management. Other than advocating for queer and trans literature, they are passionate about theatre, tabletop roleplaying games, and planning their next themed get together (ask them about Puppy Bowl 2023!)

Zoe Perzo, Content Coordinator

Zoe Perzo (she/her) is the Content Coordinator at the American Booksellers Association. Before joining ABA, she worked as a librarian, developing programs and digital content for all age groups. She has a background in anthropology, as well as a passion for advocacy and education. When she isn’t up to her knees in books, she spends her free time studying languages or crocheting.

Additionally, here are the staff members who were hired at ABA during the early stages of the pandemic and who are now going to their first Winter Institute (from left to right, top to bottom): Finnigan Butterfield, IndieCommerce Specialist; Britt Camacho, DEIA & Communications Senior Copy Editor; Ray Daniels, Chief Communications Officer; Courtney Grasso, IndieCommerce Specialist; Sara Lacey Graham, Adminsitrative Assistant; Kim Hooyboer, Director of Education; Daron Mueller, IndieCommerce Specialist; Elisa Thomas, DEIA Member Relations Manager; and Courtney Wallace, Marketing Manager & Independent Bookstore Day Program Director.