Board of Directors

2021-2022 Board Members

2021-2022 Elected Members: Thanks to our new board members for their enthusiasm and dedication to helping IPNE members "make better books & sell more of them!" Electronic ballots were sent to the membership Nov. 30 and the results were certified on Dec. 11 for Inanna Arthen, Kiki Tapiero, Connelly Akstens,  Ruby Fink, Jon Meyer, Spencer Smith, Mike Rochester. Along with incumbents Eddie Vincent, Charlotte Pierce, Michael Piekny, all board members were introduced to the membership at the IPNE Annual Meeting on Dec. 28 and convened for their first two board meeting on Jan. 12. Board meetings are on second Tuesdays unless rescheduled.

Eddie Vincent

President - Mission & Board Development

Eddie Vincent, co-owner of Encircle Publications, has been in the publishing and graphic design field for more than 30 years. His company Encircle Publications specializes in complete book production, and is home to The Aurorean poetry journal. Eddie works with publishers and independent authors, helping them with all their design needs and all facets of bringing a book to life. Eddie and his wife Cynthia, a poet and editor, live in Maine.

Jon Meyer

VP - Organizational Development

Academic Administrator Experience: Professor, Department Chair, then Dean, then Chief Development Officer, managed all aspects of administration= promotion, budget management, outreach, board development, 50+ faculty and staff.

Published writing: published over 70 articles and essays for national publications. 2020 book, Love Poems From Vermont: reflections on an inner and outer state has won 12 national, international, and regional awards, including winner Best National Poetry Book of 2019/2020 by Reader Views. A new book, Love Poems From New England is ready for launch in 2021.

Publisher of Brilliant Light Publishing, L3C: Our mission at Brilliant Light Publishing, L3C is to promote at no charge the work of writers and poets, publishers, and resources from the New England community (and proximity) who illuminate the inner and outer states of our natural and cultural environment.  

Charlotte R. Pierce

VP - Regional Groups, Membership Development

Charlotte has participated as an IPNE member since 2007, serving in most positions on the Board of Directors over the years, including President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Regional Groups manager. She coordinates the Metro Boston regional group for IPNE.

Charlotte runs the independent publishing house Pierce Press and podcast production company, Pierce Productions. Charlotte gives a free publishing or podcasting consult to IPNE and IBPA members.

Michael Piekny

Book Awards, Outreach

Michael Piekny is the founder of the professional editorial agency Hub Edits where he works with clients across various genres.  His self-published and traditionally published clients have been featured on numerous book lists.  In addition, Michael is an Editor at Encircle Publications, an independent press publishing a wide variety of titles. At Encircle, he is primarily responsible for acquiring, editing, and promoting the press's titles.

Connelly Akstens

Board Member

Bio to come

Kiki Tapiero

Board Member

Kiki Tapiero is an immigration lawyer by profession and an activist at heart. They are a queer, nonbinary (they/them pronouns), multiracial Latinx person who has loved writing since they first learned how. Kiki grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts and received their B.A. in sociology and economics from Brown University and their J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law. Kiki now works at the Bronx Defenders in New York and lives in Manhattan, but will never stop writing. They aspire to publish books with queer, feminist, and anti-racist themes and to empower queer youth of color by seeing themselves represented.

Ruby Fink

Board Secretary

Bio to come

Spencer Smith

Board Member

Spencer Smith is Director of Seapoint Books + Media, a multi-award winning publisher based in Brooklin, Maine. He has been involved in book publishing for more than thirty years. He has worked at Fodor’s Travel Guides, David MacKay Publishers, Book-of-the-Month Club and Dearborn Financial Publishing. He is author of books on maritime and travel subjects and keeps his sailboat “Scarlet” in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Mike Rochester

Board Member

Mike has been a member of IPNE since 2014. He is on the Membership Team and helps coordinate the Metro Boston regional group.

Mike manages the literary magazine The Fictional Café and serves as editor for its Fictional Café Press publications. He is a ghostwriter and editor who also provides publishing and web design services. You can find his work here. 

Past Board Members & Staff: We thank our outgoing directors from 2018-2020 for their service: Jack Rochester, Geoffrey Dutton, David Shiang, Peg Roberts, Bill Cordaro, Michelle Burinskas, Ian Lamont, Jane English (elected 2020, resigned 2021).