Recent staff promotions on the American Booksellers Association’s IndieCommerce and Logistics teams recognize the hard work and expanded roles of two key staff members: Geetha Nathan and Maria Rodriguez.

In recognition of her focused commitment and hard work regarding the IndieCommerce and IndieLite platforms, Nathan has been promoted from Manager of IndieCommerce to IndieCommerce Senior Manager.

Geetha Nathan

“IndieCommerce and IndieLite are critically important initiatives for ABA’s member stores, and Geetha has played a singular role in their continued development and success,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher.

According to IndieCommerce Director Phil Davies, who has worked for two years with Nathan and the rest of the IndieCommerce team, Nathan’s title has been changed to reflect the increased growth of IndieCommerce and the growing complexity of the IndieCommerce software.

“The IndieCommerce team runs into some interesting challenges on a daily basis, and we work hard at resolving them. It’s not unusual for me to receive an e-mail at 10:00 p.m. on a weekend from one particular member of our team. Geetha seems to be monitoring and working on our system 24/7. I sometimes think of her as the living consciousness of IndieCommerce,” said Davies. “Addressing the common daily issues as well as the complex is something that Geetha takes in stride on a regular basis. For me, her counsel has been invaluable in how we run the site daily and determine the future of IndieCommerce.”

In addition, to recognize Maria Rodriguez’s invaluable coordination work for ABA’s events and meetings, she has been promoted from Office Administrative Assistant to Meetings and Office Coordinator.

Maria Rodriguez

“Maria plays a key role for us, and her contributions have helped make sure that we are interacting with booksellers as smoothly and effectively as possible,” said Teicher.

Meetings and Planning Officer Jill Perlstein said she is pleased that Rodriguez has been recognized for her dedication and hard work at ABA and for her role in ensuring a superior event experience for attendees and staff.

“Maria’s ability to coordinate the numerous details at the Winter and Children’s Institutes, BookExpo, the Spring Forums, and the regional fall shows is paramount in ensuring a superior experience for attendees and staff,” said Perlstein. “As Maria approaches her fourth year at ABA, we wanted to recognize her for her dedication and outstanding work. Maria started out at ABA helping not only me in my role as meeting planner but assisting all departments and members in addition to managing day-to-day office operations. Over time, she has taken on additional projects and now coordinates many of ABA’s events and meetings.”

This week, ABA also announced changes to the American Booksellers for Free Expression. See Bookselling This Week [4] for details.