SPEAKERS 2026
Introducing this year's PubU faculty...
Dave Almack
Dave Almack is an experienced and innovative leader in the Christian publishing and retail industry. He is the current Director of Sales, Marketing and Acquisitions for P&R Publishing in Phillipsburg, NJ and was previously the National Director for CLC USA and Publisher for CLC Publications for over twenty years. His time in CLC included oversight of their US based Christian retail stores and management of a store in Philadelphia whose sales quadrupled in a six-year time frame. He is also the Director of the Academy of Christian Editors, an avid reader and a fan of the Tottenham Hotspurs Football team in the Premier League.
Rob Annese
Rob Annese is a digital marketing leader with deep experience in content strategy, SEO, and emerging technology. Before joining Cook Media Global, he spent 12 years leading a national digital marketing agency serving clients including Four Seasons, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Selah Freedom. Today, he leads digital strategy and AI governance for Cook Media Global. Based in Colorado, Rob is a passionate problem solver and self-proclaimed bibliophile.
Robin Bermel
Robin Bermel has marketed books for 20 years, starting with entrepreneurship, business, and personal finance books at Dearborn Trade, and then at Tyndale House Publishers, partnering with NavPress and Focus on the Family. She moved to Penguin Random House Christian Publishing as the Backlist & Brand Director in 2025. In her role, Robin collaborates with influential Christian authors, notable brands, and internal teams across the company to bridge creative and commercial priorities that drive revenue and audience growth. Her ultimate goal is for more people to experience the life-changing love of a God who pursues us!
Brooke Borneman
Brooke Borneman is a Senior Director, Client Sales & Insights at Circana, a leading global advisor on consumer behavior and market intelligence. In her role, she partners with publishers and other industry stakeholders to maximize the value of Circana's data, reporting tools, and market insights by helping clients make informed strategic decisions, uncover growth opportunities, identify emerging trends, benchmark performance, and strengthen their competitive position in the marketplace. A publishing industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience, Brooke has built a diverse career spanning sales, marketing, business development, and client strategy. She works closely with a broad range of publishing clients, including Augsburg Press, Baker Books, Broadman & Holman, Charisma Media, Christian Art Gifts, Crossway, David C. Cook, Loyola Press, HarperCollins, Intervarsity Press, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, Tyndale House Publishers, Westminster John Knox, Passion Publishing, Our Daily Bread and many others. Prior to joining Circana, Brooke worked at Random House, Dorchester Publishing, Diamond Book Distributors, Penguin Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Jennifer (Jenn) Butenschoen
Jennifer (Jenn) Butenschoen is the Director of Production & Digital Content at Harvest House Publishers. Jenn overseas a stellar production team that collaborates with multiple departments to effectively facilitate the creation of company product. She manages global manufacturing, eBook distribution and licensing, and related industry partnerships for both. As a seasoned publishing professional, Jenn has a passion for working together to create beautiful, high quality, gospel-centered product that glorifies God and points people to Jesus Christ as the answer to every human need. Jenn is an outdoor enthusiast that lives in the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband enjoy spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys serving as a leadership coach for the small groups ministry at her home church.
J. Peter Cerra
J. Peter Cerra serves as the Senior Director of International Publishing and Sales at Tyndale House Publishers. A seasoned veteran of the Christian publishing industry, he brings over 35 years of diverse experience to his role, having held positions in inventory management, licensing, international marketing, and sales. Throughout his career, Peter has developed a deep expertise in international sales and global partnerships. He is driven by a passion for collaborating with customers around the world to facilitate the distribution of Christian books and Bibles, ultimately seeking to see lives transformed through faith-based literature.
Brian Conley
Brian Conley is the Production, Design, and Digital Publishing Manager at Ave Maria Press, where he has been a key member of the team since 1997. Over nearly three decades with the company, Brian has taken on a wide range of roles reflective of the collaborative nature of a small press. He began his career as a Graphic Designer, spending 17 years creating book covers and interior layouts before transitioning to Production Manager in 2015, overseeing all printed books and marketing materials. In November 2024, Brian stepped into his current role, where he now leads the design and digital publishing efforts in addition to managing production. He supervises a team of graphic designers and a digital publishing specialist while continuing to guide the press’s print production processes. Outside of his professional work, Brian has been married to his wife for nearly 24 years, and together they have two sons, ages 18 and 20.
Daniel Cordell
Daniel joined Tyndale House Publishers in 2025, bringing more than two decades of experience in publishing, creative services, and marketing operations. Since beginning his career in 2001, he has worked across book production, marketing technology, and digital strategy. Daniel has deep expertise in marketing automation, CRM strategy, data operations, and cross-functional collaboration. He has led complex marketing technology initiatives and supported campaign strategy for organizations ranging from publishers to global brands.
Jeff Crosby
Jeff Crosby is the president of ECPA and an organizational leader and writer who has spent more than four decades working in the world of words and ideas through roles in bookselling and book publishing. He is the author of "The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts" (Broadleaf, 2023), "World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading" (Paraclete Press, 2025), and the editor and compiler of "Days of Grace Through the Year" (IVP, 2007), a collection of meditations drawn from the work of bestselling author Lewis B. Smedes. He is currently at work on "The Spirit in the Sky: The Power of Music in Our Search for Graceland" (Bloomsbury, 2026). His previous written work has appeared in numerous publications including CRUX, Conversations Journal, Living Lutheran Magazine, Urban Faith, Books & Culture, Christian Retailing, Publishers Weekly, Together (UK) and ExploreFaith.org.
Pete Ford
Pete Ford is the general manager of Apricot Services, a digital marketing agency serving Christian authors, publishers, and non-profits. He is a work-from-home/stay-at-home dad who enjoys biking around the Creston neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. By night, he reads on topics including nonviolence, time, the built environment, and spiritual practices like Sabbath. He shares book reviews at WrongVsWrite.com.
Andrea Garcia
Andrea Garcia a senior marketing manager at Tyndale House Publishers, working primarily on fiction titles. Andrea brings years of marketing and publishing industry experience to her role. She works to find the best way to reach the right reader for every book, and she enjoys collaborating with authors to release their books into the world. Andrea enjoys a good story, which has led to a lengthy to-be-read pile, a robust streaming queue, and more library fines than she’d like to admit.
Alisse Goldsmith-Wissman
Alisse has been in publishing for over 15 years, working for independent religious publishers, small indie presses, distributors, and the Big Five. She’s primarily worked in publicity on campaigns of all sizes, from celebrities to pastors to spiritual leaders. Some of her favorite campaigns have been Cole Arthur Riley’s Black Liturgies, Brené Brown’s Strong Ground, Ian Crohn and Suzanne Stabile’s The Road Back to You, Jeff Chu’s Good Soil, and Kate Bowler’s Joyful, Anyway. She is currently a publicity manager within the Random House Publishing Group, and works primarily on the Convergent, Harmony, and Rodale imprints. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two dogs, Seamus and Orla.
Margaret Harrison
Vice President, Digital Services, Ingram Content Group
Cheryl Kerwin
Cheryl Kerwin has been working in various areas of the Christian Retail industry for over 40 years, starting as a customer service rep in a Christian bookstore, to a promotions manager with a retail marketing group, to a Senior Marketing Manager and now Sales Channel Director at one of the most respected Christian publishers in the industry. Cheryl’s career started in 1985 when she was hired at one of the largest and most honored Christian bookstores in the country. This training Cheryl received instilled a “striving for excellence” principle that she has taken into each and every job since then. During her 16+ years of retail experience she specialized in employee development, vendor relations, product knowledge (books, music and kids), promotions and merchandising. The knowledge acquired during her years in retail has given her a unique perspective of how to get a product into the consumer’s hands. During her 20+ years at Tyndale House Publishers she’s been a part of one of the most innovative sales and marketing teams in the industry having marketed many New York Times bestselling titles like the Left Behind series and Joel C. Rosenberg and authors Francine Rivers, Chuck Norris, Karen Kingsbury and Phil Vischer. Being on the Sales team has given her a well-rounded knowledge of publishing and getting product into the hands of consumers. The Sales Rep team Cheryl manages benefit from the years of management training she has received and are among some of the most respected Sales Reps in the industry.
RJ Lindemann
Born and raised in the print industry, RJ Lindemann is the third generation at Total Printing Systems. He's devoted the last several years to management in the print business and has become one of the very few young executives remaining in the book business. With one eye on the future and one eye on the present, RJ knows what works for publishers now and what will work for them down the road.
Douglas Kaine McKelvey
Douglas Kaine McKelvey is an author, song lyricist, and scriptwriter. His books include four volumes of the Every Moment Holy series (now approaching 700,000 books sold), the critically acclaimed middle-grade-reader novel The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog, and others. He served as a scriptwriter and story editor for the first three seasons of the animated series The Wingfeather Saga, and has penned more than 400 lyrics recorded by a variety of artists. In 2026 Douglas launched the ongoing Every Moment Holy: Prayer Songs project (available on most streaming platforms), and an Every Moment Holy Live multi-artist, touring event. He is currently working on a nonfiction book for Waterbrook Press. Douglas and his wife Lise live in middle Tennessee.
Lance More
Lance More is a Strategic Account Executive with RR Donnelley. He has 30 years of experience assisting US and South American publishers with product development and project management for books, bibles, kitting, packaging and F&D. He started his career in bible manufacturing at RRD Crawfordsville (IN) and spent the past 25 years selling U.S. and Asia-based solutions for print manufacturing.
Katie Nguyen
Katie Nguyen is Managing Director at FrontGate Media, an award-winning marketing agency specializing in reaching faith and family audiences. A seasoned digital marketer and communicator, Katie helps authors, publishers, ministries, and faith-based organizations turn meaningful ideas into digital strategies that connect with the right audiences. Her expertise spans digital and social marketing, content strategy, audience development, and creating campaigns that move beyond simply generating attention to building genuine engagement. Katie is passionate about helping authors and organizations identify what makes their message uniquely valuable and translating that value into content people want to discover, share, and act on. Katie is also a writer, speaker, and host of the Faith For Her podcast, where she combines her love of communication with her passion for encouraging others.
Emilie Obermiller
Digital Sales Manager, Ingram Content Group
Katara Washington Patton
Katara Washington Patton is Executive Editor, VOICES Collection by Our Daily Bread Publishing, and the author of eight books, including her most recent best-selling book Navigating the Blues: Where to Turn When Worry, Anxiety, or Depression Steal Your Hope (Our Daily Bread VOICES 2022). A publishing veteran, Katara has worked in the editorial and acquisitions departments at Weekly Reader Corporation, Jet Magazine, Urban Ministries, Inc. (UMI), McGraw-Hill, The African American Pulpit, The Chicago Defender, Tyndale House Publishers, and Christian Century Magazine. In 2014, she was named Nonfiction Editor of the Year by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA). Katara graduated summa cum laude from Dillard University (New Orleans, LA), with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and English. She then earned a Master of Journalism in magazine publishing from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). She also received a Masters of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL), where she received the outstanding preaching award. Katara is a native of Thibodaux, Louisiana. She and her husband, Derrick, reside on the South Side of Chicago with their teen daughter.
Davina Powell
Davina Powell is the Consumer Marketing Services Manager for Ingram Content Group. She is a creative sales and marketing expert who is known for connecting publishers to key audiences. She has spent more than 10 years in the digital marketing space developing new resources that ensure publishers and booksellers marketing budgets are used in a productive way.
Kristina Radke
Kristina Radke has over 15 years of expertise in book marketing, publicity, and reader engagement. As Senior Vice President of Business Growth & Engagement at NetGalley + Booktrovert, she leads a global team specializing in high-impact discovery strategies for both frontlist and backlist titles. A firm believer that a book’s lifecycle extends far beyond its launch week, Kristina helps publishers leverage digital tools and community engagement to drive sustained ROI for their books.
Torrey Sharp
Torrey Sharp is the owner and principal of Faceout Studio, a market leading firm specializing in book design. The studio designs hundreds of books each year working with the world's top media companies, mid–size publishers, university presses, and individual authors. Over the years, Faceout Studio’s work has been recognized by Communication Arts, the AIGA, the AAUP, ECPA, the IBPA, Print magazine, Eye magazine, the New York Book Show, Graphis, and the American Advertising Federation. Torrey earned his economics degree from Wheaton College, IL after spending most of his growing up years in Brazil. He has been in the publishing industry since 1996.
Joshua Tallent
Joshua Tallent is the Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies where his focus is on helping publishers of all sizes learn about, and find solutions to, their workflow and metadata problems. Joshua’s background is deeply rooted in ebook development, metadata, and other publishing technologies, and he is an acclaimed teacher and guide on the role of data and AI in publishing. He serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the BISG Board of Directors and is the host of the BookSmarts Podcast, which features practical discussions and interviews about publishing data and technologies. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys teaching Bible studies, playing complex board games, and fiddling with AI coding projects.
Justin Tarsiuk
Justin Tarsiuk currently serves as the Director of Partnerships at YouVersion and the Bible App. For 25 years, Justin has pastored churches, led ministry and marketplace teams, and helped faith-based ministries find success navigating the digital landscape while staying true to their mission.
Dan Van Gorp
Dan Van Gorp is Director of Sales at Kregel Publications and has more than two decades of experience in serving the Christian publishing and bookselling community. His career has included senior sales leadership roles with HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Penguin Random House, where he worked closely with retailers, distributors, authors, and ministry partners. Dan values the relationships at the heart of Christian bookselling and is passionate about ensuring meaningful books reach the readers who need them. He and his wife, Jani, have been married for more than 30 years and have four children. Outside of work, Dan enjoys traveling with his family, officiating basketball, and staying actively involved in his church and community.
Linda Walz
Linda Walz is the Production Director at Tyndale House Publishers and has been helping produce books and Bibles for more than 35 years. She works with a dynamic group of buyers and loves being part of the process that brings the authors’ messages and the designers’ visions to life. In her free time, Linda enjoys combing for fun finds at antique markets, reading, and paper crafting. She and her husband, Bruce, are the proud parents of five adult children and are enjoying their new role as grandparents.
Mark Warner
Mark Warner is VP of Business Development and Operations with HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Mark has worked in publishing for nearly 22 years, including several roles at HCCP focused on sales, corporate integration, business strategy/turnaround, plus working 3.5 years as Publisher for Christian Audio/RB Media before returning to HCCP in early 2024. Mark specializes in finding growth via new business opportunities and helping challenged businesses improve. He is an avid reader and received his BA from Spring Arbor University, MA from Regent University, and lives outside of Nashville with his wife of 29 years and three sons.
James Whittaker
James Whittaker, is the VP of Sales & Business Development for MetaComet. He brings more than 27 years of leadership across global publishing and B2B SaaS sales and partnership development in North America, the UK, and Europe. Whittaker is recognized for his domain expertise in rights and royalties, metadata, and technology-enabled publishing workflows. A frequent industry speaker, he has presented at leading trade fairs including London and Frankfurt. He has held senior roles at Phaidon Press, Paperblanks, and Hachette Book Group.
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PREMIUM
GENERAL
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