- Jamie AtlasChair & Professor of Practice, Fashion Design & MerchandisingM.B.E., Middle Tennessee State University, B.S. in Apparel Merchandising, Indiana UniversityLocation: Hitch 411View Bio
Jamie has 30 years of experience as an industry and higher education professional with 18 of those years at O’More. Prior to joining the O’More family, Jamie received her Bachelor of Science in Apparel Merchandising at Indiana University and began her fashion career with Mercantile Department Stores in management and buying for the extended sizes and junior sportswear departments. With the experience gained with Mercantile, Jamie moved to Nashville and worked in the areas of buying, product development, marketing, management, visual merchandising, and operations with specialty stores, and direct/online retailing with Genesco, Inc.
Jamie segued into higher education with O’More College of Design in 2002 and pursued her Master’s in Business Education at Middle Tennessee State University. In addition to administrative responsibilities, Jamie has served as the Executive Producer for the annual O’More Fashion Show for the past 18 years. She also enjoys advising students and teaching courses in the area of merchandising from a freshman to senior level.
Her top priority is setting students up for success, which includes real-life application and using the power of design to transform. Jamie has established collaborative projects with industry leaders that include Olah, Inc., fortune 500 enterprise Eastman Chemical Company, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, and GiGi’s Playhouse a Down syndrome achievement center.
Jamie was a founding member of the Nashville Fashion Alliance (NFA), served as a board member and co-chaired the education committee. She is an active member of the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA), and is serving as the faculty advisor for the inaugural Belmont student association for the National Retail Federation (NRF). - Jenny KemalaLecturerM.B.A., Middle Tennessee State University, B.S. in Textiles, Merchandising and Design, Middle Tennessee State University, B.S. in Computer Science, Georgia State UniversityLocation: Hitch 408View Bio
Jenny has shared her love for design and education for the past 12 years with O’More. She has an extensive background in alteration and custom work. Jenny has also traveled to Indonesia to the cities of Bali and Java to study the art of batik design. She teaches courses in construction, pattern making, draping, silk embroidery, and advanced studio classes. Her interests include digital design and 3-D technology for fashion.
- Shannon PenningtonProfessor of PracticeM.B.A., Nova Southeastern University, B.S. in Apparel Merchandising and Product Development, University of ArkansasLocation: Hitch 302View Bio
Shannon comes to O’More from the corporate worlds of The Walt Disney Company and The Ironman Group. In nine years at The Walt Disney Company, Shannon worked in both the Creative Costuming and Global Merchandising departments. She has designed and developed costumes and products for Disney Parks across the globe. One of her most memorable career moments was working in the Lucasfilm Archives at the Skywalker Ranch to adapt original Star Wars film costumes into mass production retail garments. In the past year, Shannon’s activewear collections for The Ironman Group have been sold at over 200 events in 50+ countries, including the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France. Throughout her career, Shannon has applied the latest industry technologies for patternmaking, fitting, and design rendering, and has developed unique approaches to merge the realms of physical and digital design. Her design experience is only enhanced by her strong business acumen and deep understanding of global supply chains.
Shannon is relocated to the Nashville area this summer with her husband and daughter. After living in Florida for the past decade, she is most looking forward to experiencing all four seasons throughout the year, especially the leaves changing in the fall. She is also looking forward to raising her daughter in an area more closely reflective of her Arkansas roots. Shannon will be teaching classes in clothing construction, design studios, and leading our classes in Optitex the leading pattern drafting/3D virtual fit software.
Adjunct Faculty
- Natasha AndrewsAdjunct InstructorB.F.A. in Fashion Design, O’More College at Belmont UniversityView Bio
Natasha is an Arkansas native and recent graduate of O’More College at Belmont University with a BFA in Fashion Design. Throughout her college career she interned and was later employed in the alteration sector of the fashion industry performing wedding gown alterations, exclusively. Natasha is currently in the process of launching her own line of cocktail and seasonal dresses. Her future plans include sharing the knowledge she gained from the industry and through education with her community, and students in the area of fashion illustration.
- Nathan ChapmanAdjunct InstructorB.F.A. in Fashion Design, O’More College of Design, B.A. in Fine Art, Lipscomb UniversityView Bio
Nathan Chapman, a Nashville native, moved to New York City following graduation where he worked for contemporary brands from Christian Siriano to Haute Hippie. Upon returning to Nashville, he began working with local stage wear designers Ani & Ari, making custom corsets and gowns for country music stars. Nathan has worked in a wide array of positions in the fashion industry, from collection production to design, pattern making and clothing construction. Nathan joined our faculty this Fall and will be sharing his knowledge in the area of fashion illustration.
- Kevin CrouchAdjunct InstructorM.I.S., Southern Utah University, B.A., Apparel and Fashion Design, BYUView Bio
Kevin has been a member of the O’More faculty for 17 years. He has extensive experience in costume design, styling and visual merchandising. Kevin has worked with Walt Disney Imagineering, Filoso Mannequins, Nevada Dance Theater, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s. He is also an accomplished author. Works include Sun King, Gospel According to Elvis Presley and Borrowed Lives. Kevin leads Fashion Design Senior Thesis I and II.
- Alice HiltonAdjunct InstructorB.F.A. in Fashion Design and Merchandising, O’More College of DesignView Bio
Alice earned her B.F.A. in Fashion Design & Merchandising with O’More and has gained extensive experience in the areas of pattern drafting and product development with Hartmann Luggage, Simplicity Creative Group and her current employer JPW Industries. Alice’s advanced knowledge has allowed her to transfer her skills into areas outside of apparel. She is responsible for all aspects of the product life cycle from concept through sales, and developing and launching product from the idea stage to seeing the merchandise on the retail shelves.
Alice joined the fashion program as an adjunct instructor four years ago and leads our Merchandise Planning I and II courses. Her knowledge in the area of design and product development is key to the success of the classes and seeing the students excel within the fashion program.
- Laura HornerAdjunct InstructorB.F.A. in Apparel Design, Rhode Island School of DesignView Bio
Laura Horner has been working as a designer for nearly two decades with experience ranging from small, independent labels to large, corporate brands. Born and raised in North Carolina, she began experimenting with fashion and style at a young age before graduating with Honors from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Apparel Design. Fresh from college she started her career as a designer for Urban Outfitters, quickly honing her collaborative skills. Laura then moved to Marc by Marc Jacobs in New York where she notably spent seven years designing with the RTW Women's collection. Following this, she held Design Director positions at Juicy Couture in Los Angeles and Draper James in Nashville. As a Design Consultant, she remains influenced and inspired by color and textiles and enjoys fine-tuning a collection from concept to creation. Laura shares her knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in Fashion Technology I and II, and additional courses in the areas of design and merchandising.
- Lacie ThorneAdjunct InstructorB.B.A. in Marketing, Southern Methodist UniversityView Bio
Prior to residing in Hong Kong, Lacie Thorne lived in New York City, where she spent a decade in fashion design after attending Parsons School of Design. Lacie's professional design experience includes collaboration with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, and Adam Levine on the development of their namesake clothing brands. Her designs have been featured in national television commercials, Good Morning America, a 12-page spread in Oprah Magazine and the covers of WWD and US Weekly. She has art directed & styled for clients including Van Cleef & Arpels, Shangri-La hotels, Style Magazine, Post Magazine, Alexandre de Paris, #Legend Magazine, Prestige Magazine, Marco Polo Hotels, Panerai Watches, Gibson Guitars, Watsons Pharmacy, Onkyo, jewelry brand Qeelin owned by international luxury group Kering, and others. Her editorial work features brands like Christian Dior, Burberry, Givenchy, Gucci, Lanvin, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, YSL, Fendi, Loewe, Bottega Veneta, Hermes, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, & Balenciaga. Lacie serves as the internship coordinator, and leads our Fashion Portfolio Development and Fashion Marketing classes.
- Adrianna WardAdjunct InstructorB.F.A. in Fashion Design, O’More College of DesignView Bio
Adrianna will be lending her expertise in the area of clothing construction. She has worked with a number of companies in the Nashville area ranging from construction, patterning, tailoring to bridal alteration services. Adrianna believes that learning looks different for every student. “I use multiple methods of teaching, including auditory, kinesthetic, and visual demonstrations to ensure I am able to reach all students. I strongly believe that learning, specifically in the field of design, consists primarily of trial and error. It is important for me as a teacher to provide my students not only with the knowledge and understanding of specific technical skills, but also with the ability to solve problems, and best determine when and how to use and adapt such techniques for the task at hand.
- Nancy YoussefAdjunct InstructorB.S. in Marketing, Pennsylvania State UniversityView Bio
Nancy is the Chief Business Development Officer for Soles4Souls, and founder and President of Curves with Purpose Corporation, a women’s e-commerce marketplace celebrating shape diversity, serving sizes up to 5X, curating global brands, utilizing fit tech and helping disrupt the cycle of poverty through charitable partnerships. She has served since 2015 as senior vice president, international business development for Canton, MA-based Destination XL group, the largest omni-channel specialty retailer of big and tall men's apparel. Prior to joining Destination XL, Youssef was vice president, international business development since 2009 for NYSE-listed Genesco, Inc. where she pioneered the Fortune 1000 footwear and apparel retailer’s portfolio of brands outside the U.S. In this role she successfully directed the entry of the Fortune 1000 company into more than two dozen countries around the world and was pivotal in acquisitions, partnerships and licensing relationships. Prior to that, she served as senior brand manager for interactive multichannel retailer HSN, Inc. and has led business development for fashion apparel and accessories importer and distributor SAS-Egypt. Nancy earned her B.S. in Marketing from The Pennsylvania State University with focuses in Accounting and French & International Studies. She also completed International Fashion Design studies at the Instituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy, which gave her an opportunity to become fluent in her fifth language, adding Italian to Arabic, English, French and Spanish. Nancy serves on the Nashville Chamber of Commerce International Business Council, and shares her extensive knowledge in our Fashion Entrepreneurship and Retail Management courses.