Bay Area Women in Publishing

BOARD MEMBERS

ANNE KUBEK — President

Anne Kubek has been in the book industry for over 25 years. Anne is currently the Chief Operating Officer of ReUp Education, an edtech firm based in San Francisco. ReUp partners with universities to bring dropout students back to school and helps them graduate. Anne’s prior role was as Executive Vice President of the San Francisco-based tech company INscribe Digital. Anne led a team specializing in eBook distribution, print solutions, and marketing and analytics for a wide range of publishers. Previously, Anne held executive positions at Borders Group Inc., including SVP of Stores and EVP of Merchandising and Marketing. Anne is the Board Chair for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping Booksellers in times of crisis. Anne is passionate about the training, professional development, and mentoring of women in the workplace.

JOHANNA VONDELING — Vice President

Johanna Vondeling is President and Publisher at Berrett-Koehler Publishers. She previously served as Vice President for International Sales and Business Development and as Vice President for Editorial and Digital, after joining the company in 2004. Before that, she worked for Jossey-Bass (a Wiley imprint), W.W. Norton, and Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. She received her BA from Yale University and her PhD in literature from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to her role as BAWiP's Vice President, Johanna chairs our Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

KATY BEEHLER — Secretary

Katy Beehler is a native Michigander and recent transplant to the Bay Area. As Manager of Distribution & Operations at INscribe Digital, she oversees product development and more importantly gets eBooks into readers' hands. Prior to INscribe, Katy was a bookseller at Borders Group Inc. and held various positions there including Inventory, Merchandising, and Training supervisor. Education and feminism are central themes in her life and she joined Bay Area Women in Publishing to share knowledge with peers and advocate for equality in the industry.

GUILLIAN HETZLER — Treasurer

Guillian Hetzler is Digital Content Manager at Benetech, a nonprofit that runs Bookshare, a global digital library for people with print disabilities. Previously, Guillian worked in client services at INscribe Digital and editorial at Simon & Schuster and Entangled Publishing. She is a graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia Publishing Course and is always on the lookout for her next great read.

CHARLOTTE ABBOTT — Scholarship Task Force Chair

Charlotte Abbott founded BAWiP with Robin Seaman, Anne Kubek and Kelly Peterson in 2012 to increase recognition of Bay Area women as publishing leaders. She brings 25 years of experience to her marketing consultancy, FutureProof Content Strategy, which helps publishing and tech companies grow their audiences with stories that drive results. Charlotte speaks frequently about diversity and the future of publishing at industry conferences, and is active with Women's Media Group in New York. Earlier in her career, she honed her storytelling and audience-building skills as a journalist at Publishers Weekly and an acquiring editor at HarperCollins and Avon Books. A native San Franciscan and Yale graduate, she thrives on the synergy of living in Brooklyn, NY, and visiting the Bay Area regularly.

RACHEL NEUMANN — Membership Chair

Rachel Neumann is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and a senior literary agent at Idea Architects, a visionary book developer and literary agency. She brings 20 years of experience to leading successful independent publishing houses in both New York and California. She specializes in narrative adult nonfiction and children’s fiction, with an emphasis on reaching new and diverse audiences, expanding the base for experienced authors, and working collaboratively to develop new ideas and platforms. For ten years, Rachel served as the Publisher and Editorial Director of Parallax Press and led Parallax’s transformation from a small non-profit publisher into a multi-million-dollar trade powerhouse. Rachel is based in the Bay Area and speaks and teaches regularly around the country.

MAUREEN FORYS — Social Events Chair

Maureen Forys has more than 25 years of experience working in book publishing and graphic design, specializing in long document publishing, book design, and production automation. As the director of Happenstance Type-O-Rama, an Oakland, CA book packaging and design firm, she is a respected and often called upon expert in the development and use of macros, transformation scenarios, and scripting to automate book production. Maureen holds a B.A. in Creative and Professional Writing from the University of Redlands and spends her free time training in art of bookmaking at the San Francisco Center for the Book.

KELLY PETERSON — Professional and Educational Development Chair

Kelly Peterson is Director of Client Services at INscribe Digital, and brings 20 years of marketing and merchandising experience to her current role, helping major trade publishers, university presses, independent publishers, agents and authors maximize their eBook sales and marketing efforts at the major retailers. Prior to INscribe, Kelly worked at Borders Group, Inc. for 14 years, initially at Waldenbooks and later running the eBook program. Kelly currently chairs BAWiP's Education Committee. She is also a board member of Independent Book Publishers' Association, and serves on the Member Benefits Committee. She sees every nominated Oscar film annually (59 last year alone!) and is always ready with a book or movie recommendation. She believes each of us have the ability to change the world.

KRISTEN FRANTZ — Communications Chair

Kristen Frantz is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Berrett Koehler Publishers, where she has worked since 1992. She currently oversees the areas of sales to US trade bookstores, corporations, associations and authors, plus promotion through publicity and marketing. Kristen has worked in nonfiction publishing since 1989, previously working for McGraw-Hill in their textbook division, and Bull Publishing, a health, fitness, and nutrition book publisher. Kristen enjoys being the Communications Chair because it gives her an opportunity to hang out with smart, fun women, and help educate others about the industry. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, and striking yoga poses.

BRIDGET WATSON PAYNE -- Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Bridget is Editorial Director of art publishing at Chronicle Books, where she helps coordinate the Diversity and Inclusion Group. In addition to her board role with BAWiP, she is a senior mentor for Representation Matters. Over more than 15 years in publishing, she has collaborated with hundreds of authors to make their book ideas a beautiful reality. She is also an artist and the author of several books. Bridget has taught on CreativeLive, at the ICON Conference, Handcraft Studio School, and elsewhere; spoken at the San Francisco Writers’ Conference and the California Library Association; and been featured on KTVU San Francisco, Minnesota Public Radio, Publishers Weekly, Shondaland, Women Who Draw, and more. She is also the founder of Open Studio, a shared work, learning, and retails space in San Francisco.

ALEX HENDERSON — Education Committee

Alex Henderson joined Labyrinth Learning four years ago as an Editorial Assistant and is now an Editor, overseeing the creation, release and upgrading of the company’s online courses and multimedia products, and also its internal processes. Alex graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Creative Writing, and interned at the California Film Institute and Avalon Travel. She is a member of BAWiP's Education Committee.

VANESSA TA — Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Vanessa Ta is a proud Bay Area native. As an editor at Callisto Media, she works on titles across a wide range of subject areas from cookbooks to alternative medicine to spirituality and beyond. Before joining Callisto Media, she spent time at several Bay Area publishing houses, including North Atlantic Books and Red Wheel/Weiser. Vanessa holds a BA in English and French from San Francisco State University and an MFA in poetry from Mills College. She joined Bay Area Women in Publishing to connect with the wonderful community of women in publishing and to work to further diversity in the industry.