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Carol Aebersold, co-author of The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition® and mother to co-author Chanda Bell, is a “southern gal” by heart. Although she was born in Texas and lived the first 12 years of her life in northern Indiana, Aebersold graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in Music Education and has called the South home ever since.
A mother of three and a grandmother of three, Aebersold divides her time by traveling in support of Elf on the Shelf®, writing and executive producing the Christmas special An Elf’s Story, motivational speaking, and staying in direct contact with Santa Claus. Interested in local community theatre groups, Aebersold is passionate about instilling arts advocacy into the work she does – especially through music. For An Elf’s Story, Aebersold used her music background to co-write the original songs, “Each and Every Christmas,” as well as “Extravaganzalorious.”
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Chanda Bell co-author of The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®, is not only a writer, but a full-time mom and co-CEO of CCA and B publishing and owner alongside her mother, Carol Aebersold, and her twin sister, Christa Pitts. With a B.A. in middle grades education from the University of West Georgia, Chanda taught English, social studies, and reading to grades 5-8. As a teacher, Bell designed a remedial reading curriculum for a local school system and was commissioned to design a county wide reading skills test.
With media appearances across the country, Bell has been featured on NPR and in The Atlanta Journal Constitution and USA Today, and she has been a featured writer for Guidepost’s “Angels on Earth” series. As a public speaker, Bell visits schools and communities throughout the nation to tell the inspirational story of CCA and B, and of course, promote The Elf on the Shelf®.
For the 2011 animated Christmas special, An Elf’s Story, Bell lent her talents by co-writing the screenplay for this animated feature, working as an executive producer, and writing the musical number “The Naming Song.”
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Christa Pitts is co-CEO of CCA and B--a role she shares with her sister, Chanda. A former journalist and graduate of The University of West Georgia, Christa has an extensive background in sales and marketing. Her curiosity for journalism led her to major in Mass Communications and to work as a reporter for UWG 13 a cable access news station in Carrollton, GA. She also worked as intern/reporter for WMBB, the ABC affiliate in Panama City, Florida. After receiving an offer “she couldn’t refuse,” Christa changed her career path and accepted a job as Sales Account Manager for Aramark Uniform Services. Christa thrived in sales and eventually her two passions merged when she landed a job as on-air program host for QVC, one of the world’s largest television networks. She was visible in over 80 million homes throughout the United States and spent five years learning from some of the industries brightest entrepreneurs, corporate minds, and Hollywood stars. She calls her experience at QVC an “MBA in branding” and she has utilized her vast “widget knowledge” to join forces with her mother and sister to build one of the most successful small businesses in the country, CCA and B.
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