Board of Directors

President - Steve Carlson

Steve Carlson is publisher of Upper Access, Inc., a company that he founded with his wife, Lisa, in 1986. Upper Access remains small by design, as Steve prefers to publish only books that he can give his full attention to, In a typical year, he publishes between one and three new titles.

Steve also publishes business software for fellow book publishers--Publishers' Assistant. He recently adopted a new business model, offering the main program as freeware, while continuing to offer related goods and services at modest prices.

Prior to entering the publishing field, Steve held a variety of positions including congressional staffer, magazine editor, and newspaper reporter.

Vice President - Laura Fillmore

After learning the ropes of traditional publishing at Little, Brown, and Co. in Boston, Laura Fillmore founded Editorial Inc. in 1982, specializing in computer-aided book publishing and packaging. The company became Open Book Systems, Inc. (OBS) in 1994, at the dawn of the Internet age.

OBS helps clients realize their "content imperative" through strategic electronic publishing; its imprint Protean Press employs a profit-sharing model to publish books.

Fillmore is an Advisory Board Member for George Washington University's Master of Professional Studies in Publishing Program, and is a member of Rotary International as well as the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) in the United Kingdom. She lives in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Treasurer - Tordis Ilg Isselhardt

Photo_Tordis for website.JPG

Tordis Ilg Isselhardt has been publishing as Images from the Past since 1994.

Always based on solid scholarship, Images from the Past books cast familiar topics in a new light, and support cultural heritage tourism with ample historical and geographical context.

Numerous awards attest to the success of her team process for each book.

From 1968-77, Tordis was the Executive Director of the (1865) Victorian Park-McCullough House in North Bennington, Vermont.
She is active in support of historic and scenic preservation, historical interpretation, and independent publishing, and is vice president of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington.

Board Member - Jack Crowl

Retired publisher of The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (Washington, DC).
Founded Thistle Hill Publications in 2001
Has published six books, mostly art and photography, several in conjunction with the Vermont Folklife Center; all have won some kind of statewide or national award.
Has lived in Vermont for 20 years, part-time and full
A director of Vermont Public Radio and on the advisory board for Vermont Life Magazine.
BA and MA from the University of Maryland; honorary LHD from Lebanon Valley College (Pa.)
Married to the artist Gaal Shepherd.

Board Member - Pam Fenner

Founded in 1989 by Pamela Fenner, a long-time educator and parent, Michaelmas Press publishes a variety of award-winning books for parenting and education. The company sells its books direct to schools, through traditional bookstores, libraries, Amazon.com and its Web site: www.michaelmaspress.com.

Michaelmas Press also sells a variety of learning games via its Web site. Pam is a founding Board member of IPNE, and a charter member of NEBA, its predecessor.

Board Member - Charlotte Pierce

Charlotte Pierce is the owner of Day Tripper Books (Pierce Press), which publishes The "Compleat" Day Trippers, a series featuring family-friendly expeditions in greater Boston and Cape Cod. The company is currently developing a GPS edition for Greater Boston, as well as books and blogs for Washington, Texas, and northern New England. Charlotte's company Pierce Press provides graphic design, layout, photography, digital image processing, internet research, newsletters, and other small business & organization and networking tools.

Also a board member of Arlington Community Media, Charlotte is executive producer of Face the Book, a show about independent publishing and book-selling in New England. Face The Book panelists and hosts often are members of IPNE and NEIBA. Charlotte earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in 1980 and a Master's from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 1992. She has held editorial positions in Seattle, New York, and Boston.

Board Member - Kathy Brodsky

Kathy Brodsky is a clinical social worker, poet and author who has self-published several books. She started writing in 2001. Because of her therapy background, Kathy’s books contain many issues we can all relate to – life and life lessons. Her picture books contain questions that pertain to the topics of each book. They include: diversity friendship, loyalty, social action, conservation, recycling, change, mail, dogs, cats, etc. For further information please visit her website www.kathybrodsky.com.

Your IPNE Board: Pausing at our March meeting during discussions of bylaw updates, plans for our next publishers university, and plans to grow the organization. From left are Pam Fenner, Steve Carlson, Laura Fillmore, Charlotte Pierce, Executive Director Lyn Toomey, Kathy Brodsky (in front), Jack Crowl, and Tordis Ilg Isselhardt.

Photo by Lynsey Toomey

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