WaterBrook Multnomah, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, has announced several recent changes among its staff, including the promotion of Laura Barker to vice president and editorial director.

A 12-year veteran of the company, Barker served in several management roles for WaterBrook from 1998 to 2004, including managing editor and editorial director, before doing freelance work for a season.

Returning to the company in 2009 as editorial director, she has helped lead Multnomah’s editorial team with a high level of professionalism and expertise. In addition, she has acquired and edited some of Multnomah’s most important authors, including Kay Arthur, Liz Curtis Higgs and Joanna Weaver. She has established herself as an integral part of my management team and has become a trusted colleague in helping me in my transition here.

Susan Tjaden has been promoted to editor, continuing to report to Barker. Since joining the staff in March 2012, Tjaden has worked on such titles as Shaunti Feldhahn’s The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages and the forthcoming Unafraid by Susie Davis. Her recent acquisitions of promising authors like Joshua Becker, Elisa Pulliam and Becky Thompson showcase her publishing instincts.

Kendall Davis has been promoted to assistant editor. Since joining WaterBrook Multnomah in July 2012, Davis has provided support to the editorial team and to our authors and agents. Her professional demeanor, commitment to excellence and creative problem solving have made her an invaluable member of the Multnomah team.

Debbie Mitchell has been promoted to vice president/director of operations. Mitchell’s role is a widely varied one. In addition to her responsibilities directing production, as well as managing editorial, inventory management and the art departments, she oversees all office operations in Colorado Springs.

In connection to Tina Constable’s announcement that the position of associate publisher for WaterBrook Multnomah, Convergent and Image has been eliminated, Crown Publishing is announcing new leadership for the WaterBrook Multnomah publicity and marketing departments. 

Beverly Rykerd has been promoted to publicity director. Rykerd has been the publicity manager for WaterBrook Multnomah since 2011. She has directed publicity campaigns for dozens of our high-profile titles, many of them New York Times best-sellers, including Be the Message by Kerry and Chris Shook, Fearless by Eric Blehm, To Heaven and Back by Dr. Mary Neal, Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs, Greater and Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, and The Winnowing Season and other novels by Cindy Woodsmall.

Ginia Hairston will be joining the company on April 6 as vice president/director of marketing, An accomplished and creative marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience in Christian publishing, Hairston joins Multnomah from David C Cook, she most recently served as vice president of marketing. Previously, she served as program services director for HopeChest and as vice president of marketing for trade books at Zondervan.

Patrice Paglia, a prominent licensing executive, has joined Precious Moments Inc. as its licensing director. She brings more than 25 years’ experience with the world-renowned brand, in addition to her many other licensing relationships that span three decades.

PMI Senior Vice President of Licensing and Creative Sara Pilafas made the announcement. Pilafas recently rejoined PMI, having served as its president in the 1990s and as head of PM Creative for more than a decade at Enesco Corporation. Most recently, Pilafas served as vice president of licensing and creative at Christian Brands in Phoenix, Arizona.

“We are proud and delighted to announce the addition of Patrice Paglia to our leadership team at PMI,” Pilafas said. “Her licensing achievements are noteworthy, and her qualifications bring new opportunities to this important business segment. There is no other licensing executive with more Precious Moments knowledge and experience than Patrice, and we look forward to working with her once more.”

As division vice president for licensing at Enesco, Paglia established and maintained relationships with Fortune 500 companies that include Disney, Mattel, Coca-Cola, Warner Bros., and McDonald’s. During her 12-year tenure, Paglia also formulated international licensing strategies in 25 countries that added more than $100 million annual sales.

After leaving Enesco, Paglia joined PMI as vice president of licensing and marketing, with oversight of its $250 million consumer products licensing program for the Precious Moments brand. Following PMI’s move of its Chicago-area operations to Carthage Missouri, Paglia held executive licensing, marketing and product development positions with Roman, Inc., Building Q, and Jostens, Inc.

Prior to rejoining PMI, Paglia was retained by Enesco to formulate a strategic licensing program for Enesco and Department 56, an Enesco subsidiary.

Pilafas also announced two more additions to the PMI Creative Team. Margaret Y. Man joins PMI as its creative project manager, and Jeremy Wyman as its product developer.

Prior to joining PMI, Margaret served as product development and merchandising coordinator for the past five years at Winston Brands/Collections Etc., a major gift and décor catalog business in suburban Chicago. She has also held major administrative positions with The Salvation Army and Trinity International University. In addition, Man held similar positions with companies in Hong Kong, where she also received her Bachelor’s degree from Ching Yih College.

Wyman served as product designer at Winston Brands for seven years before coming to PMI. During his tenure at Winston Brands, his responsibilities included design of exclusive products, working closely with overseas vendors and managing freelance designers. His experience includes freelance product design for Christian Brands, Inc., and numerous graphic design projects for a variety of entities. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in visual communications from Judson University.

“Margaret and Jeremy are talented individuals with outstanding experience and skills,” Pilafas said. “We are delighted that they have come on board, and we look forward to working with them. Headed by Peggy Pak, our creative team is second to none, and both Margaret and Jeremy are important to our continued success. We proudly welcome Patrice, Margaret and Jeremy to the PMI family.”

All three positions are based in PMI’s suburban Chicago offices.

After an extensive search utilizing an outside firm, David C Cook announces that Tim MacDonald has agreed to become the chief advancement officer, a newly created position, beginning March 2. MacDonald will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Chris Dornboos and will serve as a member of the David C Cook leadership team.

MacDonald is an accomplished senior leader with over 20 years of experience with nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including Focus on the Family, The Jenkins Companies, Woodmen Valley Chapel and, most recently, the Dexter Group. Notably, he served as chief of advancement for Gary Bauer in his run for president in 1999.

“I am thrilled to have someone with Tim’s experience and giftedness joining the leadership team at David C Cook,” Doornbos says. “His passion for our global mission, combined with his heart for relationships and his business acumen make him a perfect fit for this role.”

MacDonald’s primary responsibilities will be the creation, documentation and execution of a five-year Donor Development Plan, which will be designed to “message the mission” and increase the size of the donor base and their contributions to the ministry.

MacDonald will also be responsible for building a cross-departmental team of marketing experts from each department to lead Corporate Communication Strategies and campaigns to the ministry’s key stakeholders. Accordingly, he will also act as chief public relations officer for the entire organization.

“It is exciting to see the team that the Lord has put together under Cris’ leadership, and it is even more exciting to be a part of that team,” MacDonald said. “I’m honored at the opportunity to expand the relationships with investors/donors for this ministry, across the country and around the world. With God, nothing is impossible when He directs our path.”

David C Cook announces the recent hiring of Alice Crider as the new senior acquisitions and development editor for its book team. Crider’s main responsibilities will be acquiring women’s nonfiction Christian living and spiritual growth books.

Crider began her career in Christian publishing at David C Cook in 1999, starting in Curriculum department and then moving to books. She moved to Alive Communications in 2001 and then to WaterBrook Publishing in 2004, where she progressed through the editorial ranks acquiring and developing manuscripts, writing marketing and back cover copy, and handling author relation issues.

The last two years, Crider has worked as an Agent with WordServe Literary Group representing over 40 authors where she focused on women's Christian living, spiritual growth and women’s devotionals. 

“I am excited to be back at David C Cook and excited to be developing books that transform lives,” Crider said.

“With women’s books being one of our growing genres in the next five years, I am very encouraged and pleased that someone with Alice’s credentials and experience has chosen to join our publishing team,” said Dan Rich, David C Cook’s chief publishing officer.

Concordia Publishing House has named four-year company veteran Loren Pawlitz as its new executive director of marketing and eCommerce. Pawlitz is the first person to hold this role at CPH.

Pawlitz leads a diverse team charged with creation, content and execution of videos, websites, digital marketing, traditional marketing and social media. Additionally, he oversees the communications vision and strategy for CPH.

Since coming to Concordia in 2010, Pawlitz has made major strides in the progression of digital marketing and eCommerce.

“Everything we do at CPH is designed to connect people to the Lord,” Pawlitz said. “Our day-to-day work will impact the faith life of individuals for generations to come. What a great reason to come to work each day.”

Prior to joining CPH, Pawlitz served as director of retail for Delaware North Companies Sportservice at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He was responsible for creating the region’s most exclusive shopping experience for St. Louis Cardinals fans.

He oversaw more than 20 stores and a 200-person staff throughout the ballpark, facilitating events such as baseball games, playoffs, concerts and the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

New Leaf Publishing Group has hired recent College of the Ozarks graduate Sarah Rice as its new publicist for Master Books and New Leaf Press divisions. Rice Sarah will be handling media requests, communicating with New Leaf’s community of reviewers, and helping with homeschool convention activities. 

Rice said she feels blessed with the opportunity to launch her career at the Northwest Arkansas-based New Leaf Publishing Group.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity and I am so excited to be a part of such a unique company,” Rice says. “I am looking forward to working with our wonderful group of authors and with media professionals within the Christian book industry.”

New Leaf CEO Tim Dudley said of Rice’s hiring, “We are happy to have Sarah on board as we celebrate our 40^th year serving this industry and His kingdom.”

A 12-year company veteran, Melinda Bouma has been promoted to associate publisher of The Zondervan Bible publishing team. Zondervan’s Bible publishing program is the longtime North American commercial publisher of the New International Version, the world’s most read Bible translation.

Bouma joined the Zondervan publishing group in 2003 as a marketing coordinator for the Bibles team. After several promotions within its marketing structure, she successfully transitioned to editorial in 2013 as the editorial director for Zondervan Bibles.

During her tenure, Bouma has gained experience working with multiple areas of the business including: acquisitions, working with authors, and product development. As associate publisher, she will continue to use these skills, in addition to project oversight and strategy to generate awareness for the NIV and valuable partnerships for the entire Zondervan Bible publishing program.

“I am grateful for the leaders before me who brought Melinda into our organization and allowed her to grow,” said John Kramp, SVP of Bible Resources for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

Kramp oversees Bible publishing for both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan publishing groups. “Melinda has proven her ability to lead and this promotion will allow her to expand upon the great work she was already doing for our company.”

Bouma received a BA in Business from Calvin College and a MBA from Grand Valley State University.