Month: July 2016

Community Work

• Colorado Creative Industries — Review panelist for the 2015 Colorado Creates grant.
• PubWest — Board member and Long Range Planning committee chair.
• Colorado Business Committee for the Arts — Graduate of their Leadership Arts program and active member.
• Frederick Buechner Institute — Served on the National Advisory Council from the organization’s inception to dissolution.
• Host annual fundraisers for arts organizations that focus on arts education and literacy for underserved youth. So far we’ve donated money or pro bono services to:
  • Youth on Record
  • Urban Peak
  • Lighthouse Writers Young Writers program
  • Colorado Conservatory of Dance
• Community coalition participation  with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, Colorado Anti-Hunger Network, Persons Living in Public Places.
• Creator and host of free and near-free cultural events including film screenings, multi-disciplinary art events (including music, film, visual art, and writing), panel discussions, etc.
• Publishing advisor and agent for the Fujimura Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.

Public Speaking

• Colorado Creative Industries board meeting – Denver, CO (guest speaker)
• Western State Colorado University – Gunnison, CO (keynote speaker, panelist, pitch sessions)
• Colorado Writing School – (panelist)
• Bas Bleu Theatre – Fort Collins, CO (guest speaker)
• Jefferson County Open School – (guest lecturer)
• Townie Books – Crested Butte, CO (guest speaker)
• InScribe Writers Conference – Edmonton, Alberta (two keynote speeches, a panel, and two workshops)
• International Arts Movement – New York City, NY (workshop leader)
• Metropolitan State University – Denver, CO (panelist)
• Colorado Christian University – Lakewood, CO (guest lecturer)
• Urban Peak – Denver, CO (book project coordinator with clients)
• Lighthouse Writers Workshop – Denver, CO (annual panelist, pitch sessions)
• Converge Denver – Denver, CO (Conundrum in RiNo organizer, book discussion leader)
• Colorado Christian Writers Conference – Estes Park, CO (panelist, pitch sessions)

In the Media

• Poets & Writers – Denver Literary Guide
• Publishers Weekly – New Nonprofit Looks to Foster Publishing Industry in the West
• Publishers Weekly – Emergent and Beyond: Books for the Broader Conversation on Faith

Education

• Master of Public Health, University of Michigan: December 1999
• Master of Social Work, University of Michigan: December 1998
• Bachelor of Arts, Calvin College: May 1996

Professional Experience

Colophon Center, co-founder and Director of Community and Education

May 2016 – present
Denver, CO

• Develop comprehensive plan to strengthen publishing as a creative industry in the Deep West
• Forge coalition of regional publishing professionals, including small presses, literary agents, printers, editors, and designers
• Partner with high schools and colleges, particularly targeting low-income and at-risk populations, to provide publishing skills training via our internship program
• Host regular community events, readings, and educational opportunities for public and stakeholders

Western State Colorado University, Director of Certificate in Publishing

October 2014 – present
Gunnison, CO

• Reimagine and reconstruct the certificate program to attract more students to the certificate as well as to the low-residency MFA program of which it is a part.
• Create and distribute syllabi, teach online and in-person intensive classes, grade papers and projects.
• Lead as editor-in-chief for the University’s literary publication Manifest West and poetry journal Think, ushering certificate students through the entire publishing process of these publications.
• Serve as advisor to Writing the Rockies, the MFA program’s annual writing conference.

Samizdat Publishing Group, Founder and Publisher

April 2009 – present
Golden, CO      

• Created two publishing divisions within the Group:
  • Formed Samizdat Creative in 2009 to provide high-end self-publishing services. I recruit and manage a hand-selected pool of professional editors and designers to produce books that meet industry standards, manage marketing and book publicity professionals, and offer offset and POD printing with customized distribution and fulfillment services.
  • Acquired Conundrum Press in 2010, originally founded in 1998, to publish award-winning literature, poetry, and short fiction that explore the voices and themes of the Rocky Mountain region for a national audience. By the end of 2016, we’ll have fifty new and rereleased titles available.
• Secure radio interviews (Colorado Public Radio and KGNU) and coordinate with regional booksellers to promote new books.
• Building a company from scratch has given me the opportunity to do everything there is to do:
  • Creative brainstorming.
  • Author acquisition and retention, including contract negotiation and leading editorial and pub boards.
  • Production, including editing, cover art and interior design.
  • Project management: producing print-ready files and coordinating printing, distribution, marketing, publicity, and sales.
  • Human resources: recruiting and managing editors, designers, and interns.
  • Performing financial and administrative tasks.
• Highly skilled in developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. The Chicago Manual is my favorite style.
• Superb networker, making author acquisitions and coalition-building easy and fun.
• Proficient in the Microsoft Suite and Adobe InDesign and Photoshop.
• Active in facilitating cross-discipline collaborations between departments and cultural organizations.
• Mission-driven entrepreneurship is at the core of my work and I support organizations providing art and literacy education to underserved communities through fund-raising events and pro bono book production.

Wordserve Literary, Associate Agent

April 2009 – April 2010
Denver, CO

• Quickly built a list of budding authors through networking.
• Reviewed and helped to construct dynamic book proposals for authors I agreed to represent.
• Developed good working relationships with acquisitions editors at publishing houses all over the country.
• Tracked the progress of proposals through the pub process and advocated for my authors as needed.

NavPress, Senior Acquisitions and Developmental Editor

January 2006 – April 2009
Colorado Springs, CO   

• Created new line of books for the psychographic of readers interested in social justice, the arts, global service, and environmental stewardship.
• Acquired new and experienced authors for the new line and for the general NavPress imprint, developing strong working relationships with them and shepherding their proposals through the pub process.
• Provided developmental and line editing for most manuscripts I acquired, hired and managed freelance editors for the rest.
• Collaborated with all other departments (production, marketing, sales, finance), providing P&L’s, cover and catalog copy, sales training, design input.
• Represented NavPress at trade and writing conferences.
• Organized book signings and attracted press coverage for them.
• Initiated the partnership between NavPress and the Via Affirmativa artist group.
• Dreamed up and coordinated the company’s first authors’ forum at Glen Eyrie.

Kaiser Permanente, Prevention Specialist

June 2004 – December 2005
Aurora, CO    

• Redesigned prevention program to meet current “best practices” in order to have a longer lasting impact on worksite employees.
• Managed projects requiring collaboration with company HR staff and employees; health educators, dietitians, weight management staff, sales and marketing, corporate communications, and clinical research staff.
• Collaborated with Prevention Department leadership, sales and marketing, clinical researcher, and company HR director to develop, implement, and evaluate new worksite wellness incentive programs.
• Conducted and analyzed health risk assessments, presented executive summaries to Human Resource directors, and created a five year health education strategy based on our evaluation.

 Front Range Community College, Adjunct Professor

August 2003 – June 2004
Westminster, CO        

• Prepared for and taught Sociology 101 by creating lesson plans, writing assignments, quizzes, research projects, and in-class discussions.
• Taught two days per week based on the official textbook chosen by FRCC and additional material I assigned.
• Complied with FRCC’s policies including offering office hours, grading, and handing out student feedback forms.

Northeast Denver Housing Center, Community Manager

November 2002 – June 2004
Denver, CO

• Implemented “shelter-plus-care” program for newly acquired property for people without homes.
• Wrote monthly progress reports to funding sources and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
• Found new grants to expand the program’s impact and helped write proposals.
• Organized residents into an empowering residential council.
• Initiated and developed partnerships with local organizations to start food bank, community garden, computer lab, and community safety programs.

American Heart Association, Operation Stroke Manager

September 2000 – July 2002
Denver, CO      

• Developed and managed the program budget.
• Recruited and managed volunteers for five committees of lay and professional people through which Operation Stroke programs were created and implemented.
• Created a coalition to plan and implement survivor and caregiver symposium—members included Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s Association, Brain Injury Association, and Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital.
• Coordinated the effort with all other departments in the American Heart Association (communications, development, cardiac programs, finance) to enhance program performance.
• Completed and analyzed baseline needs assessments to guide programs.