MELISSA SERDINSKY—President; Co-Chair of the Senior Storytelling Program

Melissa Serdinsky has been working hands-on in the bookselling and publishing universe for over thirty years. She started at BookStop #1 in Austin Texas and found her way to NYC publishing, where she worked for ten years in a variety of roles ranging from advertising assistant at Macmillan Publishing to acquisitions manager at Sterling Publishing. She moved to Colorado with no job but a strong desire to get back to “normal” living. In 2001 she found her publishing family at the Perseus Books Group (PBG), where she put all the tools in her toolbox to good use for fifteen years. During her tenure as VP of Manufacturing and Digital Ops, she developed an industry-leading digital print program, ran a lean manufacturing program, and was instrumental in the creation of a digital distribution service supporting over 200 publishers. Melissa now works independently with publishers to overcome operational pain points to grow their business through her new venture, Thin Air Collective. 

PETER TRIMARCO—Vice President, Chair of the Visiting Authors Program

Peter Trimarco has nearly three decades in the publishing industry, from content creation, production, and distribution through to magazine and book publishing. Throughout his tenure he has also been immersed in the film industry, the music industry, and most recently in publishing books for children.

As co-founder and publisher of both Beyond Cinema Magazine and Notable Kids Publishing, he has expertise in all aspects of traditional magazine and book production and distribution. As an author and illustrator, he has created original content for augmented-reality mobile apps for children, and of course, the printed page. Currently, Peter’s primary focus is in publishing picture books and content for mid-grade readers, while working with new and established authors and illustrators. Prior to establishing Notable Kids Publishing, he was a veteran of the media industry as executive producer and creative director on dozens of music productions, co-founder of three record labels, publisher for two international film magazines, and as a news art director. While in the music industry, he was the creative director and executive producer on over forty titles with two receiving Grammy nominations. As an active member of the entertainment and publishing communities, Peter has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air and interviewed by the London Financial Times on intellectual property rights, in addition to being a voting member of NARAS. He currently serves on the Board of the IBPA and the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation.

TERESA ALLEN—Treasurer; Co-Chair of the Book Benefit Program; Co-Chair of the Computer Literacy Assistance Program

Education and literacy have been Teresa’s passion and life work since the late 1990s. She was an award-winning middle school language arts teacher for seven years in San Diego County. Then, she worked as the Youth Institutions and Acquisitions Consultant for the Colorado State Library from 2006 to 2010. During that time, she improved library collections and services in the Colorado Division of Youth Services, and she started an annual mini-conference for youth institutional library staff. She also participated in the Young Adult Library Services Association’s “Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults” national selection committee. In 2010, Teresa moved on to teach high school English classes at the Youthful Offender System in Pueblo and then worked for five years as a librarian in Denver Public Schools. She returned to the Youth Institutions position in 2016. When not consulting, Teresa loves movies, thrift stores, yoga, and, of course, READING.

ANN CUNNINGHAM—Secretary; Co-Chair of the Computer Literacy Assistance Program

Ann Cunningham is the co-owner of Sensational Books!, which manufactures accessible tools and materials for people who are blind or visually impaired. Cunningham has been investigating this field by teaching art at the Colorado Center for the Blind since 1999. She is now engaged with the University of Colorado, Utah State University, the National Federation of the Blind and Touch Graphics on different projects to advance our understanding of how pictures work and how people interact with them. Her tactually accessible books include a Benjamin Franklin (IBPA) award–winning book titled Sadie Can Count.

ANDREA ANTICO—Co-Chair of the Young Authors League

Andrea is a retired elementary school librarian, author and publisher of Buster the Bully, and a CIPA member who has served as the YAL Chair for the past year. She has wonderfully connected CIPA ELF to various elementary schools and organizations and hopes to do even more in regards to starting a YAL program at a local school.

MICHAEL MOLINET—Co-Chair of the Book Benefit Program

As a graduate of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Michael’s thirty-year professional career includes being a traditionally published author/illustrator, an art director, a creative director in both marketing and design, as well as a freelance illustrator. His portfolio contains agency work, interior and cover book illustration, graphic design, as well as his published children’s books. His paintings have won awards and been displayed in the Smithsonian and other gallery showings. A recent move to Colorado has availed him the opportunity to retire from the corporate world and to direct 100% of his energies to developing not only his own literary career, but also to offer his skills and experience for the advancement of others’ literary careers. Now as a freelance illustrator, he delights to create the visual language that communicates the heart and the soul of the author’s words; always mindful of the author’s message and good marketplace success. To learn more about Mike, visit his website: www.michael-molinet.com.

DORIS BAKER

Doris Baker is publisher and editor at Filter Press, LLC, a traditional publishing company established in 1957. She has owned the company since 1996 and brought scores of books to print and to the attention of the public. Filter Press publishes middle grade historical fiction and biographies of the heroes of the American West. Filter Press authors have won numerous awards including WILLA Awards from Women Writing the West, the Colorado Book Award, the Top Hand Award from Colorado Authors League, as well as several EVVY Awards. Doris is a past president of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association and the recipient of the Ric Simmons Memorial Life Vest Award from the association.

JIM RINGEL—CIPA President

Jim Ringel is the author of the novels Wolf and 49 Buddhas: Lama Rinzen in the Hell Realm, and writes the "Writing Like a Buddha" blog, offering meditations and exercises to help writers see and experience the world in different ways. He lives with his Tibetan Terrier, Rascal, in semi-rural Colorado. Find out more about Jim at www.JimRingel.com.

BOB SCHRAM—Co-chair, Senior Storytelling Program

Bob, the immediate past President of CIPA, has served as a Publishing Resource since 1984. He has worked as the production manager of Pruett Publishing, art director of InJoy Birth & Parenting Education, and board member & vice president of the Rocky Mountain Publishing Professionals Guild. Currently the founder and owner of Bookends Design, Bob works extensively with publishers, small businesses, schools, authors, and individuals requiring book design & production, art direction, project management, print coordination, or publishing consulting. He especially enjoys helping new authors navigate the self-publishing process.

DANIEL PRATT—Webmaster

Daniel Pratt has been in the publishing business for more than twenty years, having joined the University Press of Colorado's Business Department in 1999 before moving to the Editorial and Production Department in 2000. He has been co-owner of Pratt Brothers Composition since 2011, and has been a CIPA ELF board member since January 2017. He served as chair of the Book Benefit Program from January 2017 through October 2019. He lives in Erie with his wife; their dimwitted but affable dog, Fisher; and a tiny pink dictator they call their daughter.