PAST BOARD MEMBERS
ROBIN SEAMAN— BAWiP Co-Founder
Robin Seaman was a co-founder of BAWiP and the Director of Content for the Silicon Valley nonprofit Benetech, which runs Bookshare, the largest digital library in the world for people with print disabilities. Prior to her death in 2019, she oversaw Benetech’s Born Accessible Initiative, whose goal is to ensure that content that is born digital is also “born accessible,” and chaired the BISG’s Accessible Publishing Working Group. Before that, she was the Director of Content for the Rocket eBook, the first handheld electronic reading device, and held a variety of marketing roles in New York and the Bay Area with Macmillan, Oxford University Press, The Crown Publishing Group, HarperCollins and IDG Books.
JACKIE THOMPSON
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Jackie Thompson served on the BAWiP board from September 2016 to March 2018. She is the Content Acquisition Senior Key Account Manager for Ingram, focusing on business development for digital distribution and POD. Jackie started in publishing over 25 years ago at Wiley, and subsequently held management positions at some of the most highly-respected publishers on the West Coast, including Timber Press, New Harbinger, and Nolo. She has served as a board member for PubWest and the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, and has spoken at many industry conferences. Her experience extends beyond traditional book publishing to e-books, software, digital content licensing, and B2B sales and marketing.
ANNE KUBEK — President
Anne Kubek has nearly 30 years of experience in the book industry. 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 technology company INscribe Digital. Anne led a team specializing in eBook distribution, print solutions, and marketing and analytics for a wide range of publishers. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Anne held executive positions at Borders Group Inc., including SVP of Stores and EVP of Merchandising and Marketing. Anne was formerly 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. Anne has a BA from The University of Michigan in English Language and Literature, and an MBA, also from UofM. In addition to her role as President, Anne chairs the Nomination and Governance Committees.
ALLI DAVIS
Alli Davis was a founding board member of BAWiP, and served from July 2016 - June 2019. As a member of the BAWiP Communications Committee, she helped build and maintain our website. She left publishing in 2019, to enroll in University of Pennsylvania’s graduate program in Historic Preservation. Previously, she worked with INscribe Digital as a Client Services Representative, for Academic and International Publisher, assisting publishers with delivering their eBook files to retailers and marketing their titles.
JAMIE LEIGH REAL — Social Events Committee
Jamie Leigh Real served on the BAWiP board from September 2019 to February 2020, and was active on BAWiP's Social Events Committee from 2018 - 2019. Before she decided to move to Slovenia with her husband in early 2020, she was Associate Managing Editor of Children's at Chronicle, and also edited Rick Steves guidebooks. Previously, she served as Managing Director at Litquake, was an Editor at a boutique publisher in New Zealand, and interned with a variety of magazines, literary agencies, and Bay Area publishers. She has also been an English teacher in Hungary and Poland, and travelled to more than 30 countries. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
MAUREEN FORYS — Mentorship Task Force Co-Chair
Maureen Forys (she/her) 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.
KRISTEN FRANTZ — Communications Co-Chair
Kristen Frantz (she/her) 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 Co-Chair and a BAWiP Mentor because it gives her opportunities 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.
RACHEL NEUMANN — Membership Chair
Rachel Neumann (she/her/they) 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.
KATY BEEHLER — President, Robin Seaman Award Committee Chair
Katy Beehler (she/her) is a Product Manager at the tech for social good non-profit, Benetech. She works on Bookshare, a software application for the world's largest digital library for people with print reading disabilities. Katy has over 15 years of experience in the book industry, previously working for Independent Publishers Group, INscribe Digital, and Borders Group Inc. As a native Michigander, she can often be spotted at BAWiP events talking about Michigan football, the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, and pop (not soda). She earned her BA from University of Michigan and her MA in Jewish Art and Visual Culture from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. In addition to her role as President, Katy chairs the Robin Seaman Award, Governance, and Nomination Committees.
ROCHON PERRY — BIPOC Womxn in Publishing Committee, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Co-Chair, Education Events Committee
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Rochon Perry is co-founder of WRTB, LLC, which consists of Cedar Grove Publishing (book company) and Articulate Fish Media Group (digital marketing and media), along with her partners Rebecca Sims-Nichols and Gloria Davenport-Wilson. With the tagline Every Book is Somebody's Story, Cedar Grove Publishing's books celebrate diversity, and being true to yourself while overcoming adversity to achieve success. Previously, Rochon was an Art Director for a local San Francisco television station. She also worked on the White House Access to Capital for Small Business campaign, Bishop Desmond Tutu's first tour upon his release from prison, and has helped independent comic book companies and non-profits launch new marketing and publicity campaigns, curated cartoon exhibitions and been an Eisner Award judge. Rochon is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Institute for Comic Studies, CALIBA, Bay Area Independent Book Publishers Association, People of Color in Publishing, the Children's Book Council and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She is also the recipient of several awards, including an award for news content from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).