PPAI has named the slate of candidates for its incoming Board of Directors class, due to serve the branded merchandise industry’s leading nonprofit trade association from January 2027 until 2031.
The two-person slate includes Ally Delgado, CEO and co-founder of Minnesota-based distributor Merchology, and Shelley Williams, vice president of marketing at SanMar, PPAI 100’s No. 1 supplier.
Delgado and Williams were nominated to the slate following evaluation by the Leadership Advisory Committee, vetting by the Elected Directors Nominating Committee and ultimately, approval by the sitting PPAI Board of Directors. Each group consists of member volunteers.
The election to approve the slate begins August 17 at 9 a.m. (CT) and closes August 24 at 5 p.m. (CT). Each PPAI member company’s voting contact is eligible to cast an up-or-down vote for the candidates. Voting will be done electronically, and a new 2026 username and password will be emailed to the voting contacts when the election opens.
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- A candidate must receive majority approval among votes cast to be named to the Board of Directors following The PPAI Expo 2027.
- The two board seats represent replacements for the expiring terms of Denise Taschereau, CAS, of Fairware and Frank Myers of S&S.
Also set to roll off the board in January is Kara Keister, MAS, of distributor Social Good Promotions, who will be finishing her tenure as Regional Relations Committee delegate. The PPAI Board will name her successor from the RRC soon.
About Ally Delgado
Since launching the disability-owned business enterprise with her father and brother in 2014, Delgado has helped grow Merchology into a branded merchandise platform generating $90 million in annual revenue and serving more than 60,000 companies around the world, including many of the Fortune 500.
CEO & Co-Founder of Merchology
Prior to becoming CEO in 2022, Delgado served as chief marketing officer from the firm’s inception. She entered the merch industry with a rich background, having worked at General Mills managing multi-million-dollar brands and at Deloitte Consulting advising Fortune 500 clients on growth strategy and operational performance.
Additionally, the Merchology team has built a multi-million-dollar sustainable apparel and gifts brand (Zusa) for the corporate market, giving Delgado firsthand experience in product development, brand building and shifting customer demand toward more purpose-driven merchandise.
“This multi-faceted perspective (distributor, decorator and manufacturer) allows me to understand the operational realities, margin pressures and partnership dynamics that underpin our ecosystem, ensuring decisions are grounded in how the industry actually works and the challenges we’re up against,” Delgado says.
Learn more about Delgado in this Q&A.
About Shelley Williams
For nearly 30 years, Williams has been at the intersection of brand strategy, creative direction and digital experience across some of the most recognized consumer brands in the world and, most recently, at the largest wholesale apparel supplier in the United States and a pillar of the branded merch industry.
VP of Marketing at SanMar
Before joining SanMar in 2019 as vice president of marketing, Williams worked for Disney, Expedia and Alaska Airlines – where she led the first major brand refresh in nearly 25 years. Deeply involved in organizational governance through executive committee work at SanMar, she serves on both the Employee Engagement and Benefits Committee and the Business Risk Executive Committee.
Some of the most consequential decisions of her career have required recommending difficult but necessary paths, Williams says. At Alaska Airlines, she played a central role in recommending the sunset of the Virgin America brand following the $4 billion acquisition. At SanMar, she has led through restructuring, role eliminations, a “very emotional” return-to-office transition and the controversial decision to discontinue its full-line printed catalog.
“Each of these experiences required balancing financial and operational realities with genuine care for the people affected,” Williams says. “That’s the kind of judgment I would bring to the PPAI Board of Directors.”
Learn more about Williams in this Q&A.
The PPAI Board of Directors
Along with those directors whose terms are set to expire in January, the PPAI Board of Directors currently includes Danny Rosin, CAS, of distributor Brand Fuel, Zack Ottenstein of distributor The Image Group, Mark Gammon of supplier PCNA, Samantha Kates of supplier Spector & Co., Erin Reilly of supplier Pop! Promos, Kate Alavez of distributor PromoShop, Joseph Sommer of distributor Whitestone and Bruce Barnet of supplier Charles River Apparel.
