AATCC Names Christina Rapa as President-Elect
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., November 4, 2024 – As determined by a special election, Christina Rapa has assumed the role of President-Elect and will serve as the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) President from January 1, 2025, until December 31, 2026.
Rapa has been an advocate for AATCC for more than 23 years. Starting as a Textile Engineering student at both Jefferson University and NC State and continuing through the formation of the Northwest chapter in Portland/Seattle in the early 2000s, she now serves as the Delaware Valley Section Chair.
“Networking with both industry professionals and universities on a regional basis is one of the key reasons I joined AATCC. I utilize the expert knowledge base that AATCC members provide in my career and love the opportunity to learn about new material innovations”. ~Christina Rapa
As the Material Interest Group chair for the past three and half years, she has invited members via webinar to hear diverse speaker topics such as “Space Textiles”, “Biobased Leather”, “Advances in Regenerated Cellulose” and “Seaweed Fiber”. As an engineer in the Fabrics division at W.L. Gore and Associates, Rapa focuses on digital transformation, including 3D material creation and PLM software implementation.
“My favorite event of the year is the AATCC Textile Discovery Summit. A key organizational practice at Gore is to ‘build your lattice’. AATCC allows me to connect with other professionals in the textile, footwear and apparel industry and I look forward to building on this momentum as President-Elect and President in the coming years”. ~Christina Rapa
When Rapa assumes the role of AATCC President on January 1, 2025, current President, John Crocker will assume the role of Immediate Past President where he will serve as the Chair to the Appropriations Committee. During his presidency, Crocker encouraged the Association to participate in several tradeshows around the world to aid in global presence and has presented on various topics on behalf of the Association and during many AATCC events. Most recently, he represented the Association in October by presenting Driving Sustainability Through Textile Standards at the 2024 Intexcon Conference in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. He has made an active effort to build connections and relationships with the AATCC staff and members by regularly visiting the Technical Center and participating in numerous AATCC events. The AATCC is proud to have called John Crocker President for 2023-2024 and thanks Crocker for his dedicated service while looking forward to welcoming Christina Rapa to the role of President.
To determine the next President-Elect, a special election will be held in early 2025. More details to come on the AATCC website.
