Team Bios

Abi cut her teeth as an editor at Pelican Publishing Co., now an imprint of Arcadia. Before joining GFP, she taught English and poetry at the college level and served as the content director for a visual communications company, writing marketing collateral for companies such as Netflix, the NEA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Abi holds a BA in English, French, and Italian from Tulane University and an MFA in poetry from the University of Washington. Her poems appear in publications around the country. When not at work, Abi reads, writes, runs, bakes, and reads some more.

Adria earned a BA in English literature and history from the University of Colorado Boulder. After a short stint working in Residence Life, she attended the Denver Publishing Institute at the University of Denver to pursue a career in book publishing. Adria has worked as a bookseller at Tattered Cover Book Store and most recently as Marketing Manager at Shambhala Publications. Born and raised in Colorado, Adria currently lives outside of Denver and enjoys hiking, kombucha, puzzles, and finding new music.

Alyssa grew up in West Michigan where she spent most of her time dancing and wakeboarding. She has a BA in English from Hope College, which she put to use as a copyeditor, working on everything from memoirs to dental hygiene books. Alyssa recently earned a certificate in editing from the University of Washington. In addition to working with books, she is a dance instructor who has taught classes all over Seattle, where she now lives. She loves kayaking, tacos, and her cat, Whiskey G.

Christina got her start in publishing at Chronicle Books and worked for several smaller publishers before joining Girl Friday in its infancy. Over the years, she’s edited manuscripts, managed editors, nurtured the company’s growth, and created a bestselling series of City Walks guides. These days, she advises authors on their publishing options to empower them to choose the right path for their book. In addition to loving a story well told, Christina swears by the magical powers of baking, road trips, peonies, and crisp autumn days. She lives in Portland with her family.

Dave joined Girl Friday in 2014 as a production editor after a career in public librarianship. Dave believes everyone has a story to tell and loves helping people make that happen. Dave is originally from Southern California and has called Seattle home since 1993. He received his BA in English Literature from the University of California, Irvine, and his MLIS and certificate in editing from the University of Washington. When not making or reading books Dave enjoys printmaking, music, gardening, cycling, and yoga.

Emilie, in her fifteen years in publishing, has helped produce everything from niche academic texts to edge-of-your-seat thrillers, from New York Times bestsellers to brand-building titles for some of the world’s biggest licenses. A former editor at Chronicle Books, Emilie has been with Girl Friday since 2013. She delights in wrangling complex books, diving deep into developmental edits, writing tantalizing back cover copy, and helping authors fulfill the dream of publishing their perfect book. Her happy place is anywhere she can see a body of water visible over the top of her latest read.

Georgie joined Girl Friday in 2018, after authoring three books of her own and as a lifetime reader inspired by favorites including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Auntie Mame. A marketing professional with over 20 years’ experience in media and magazines, Georgie’s passion for helping authors achieve their unique version of success makes her a client favorite, and her support of her talented marketing strategists makes her beloved by her team as well. One of an increasingly rare breed of locals who grew up in Seattle, she has stories to tell, but she probably won’t.

Ingrid founded Girl Friday with LAM after first hiring her to Seal Press where they worked together for five years. Ingrid’s stint at Seal lasted fifteen years in all, where she ran the publicity and marketing departments before rising to the role of associate publisher. She has a degree in sociology from Colorado College and indie cred from an internship at the Rocket, Seattle’s now-defunct weekly focused on the local music scene. A published author, Ingrid still serves as a beloved instructor in the Editing Certificate Program at the University of Washington, always on the hunt for the next Girl Friday. A lover of travel, Ingrid’s recent adventures took her to Africa where her daughter currently resides. She loves good cocktails and bad tv and has a soft spot for lost causes (you know who you are). Originally from Baltimore, Ingrid lives in Seattle with her family.

Karen has been with GFP for seven years, joining us after working with the team from the client side. She came to us from Amazon with five years’ experience working for Amazon Publishing and their retail hardlines division and with more than 10 years’ experience prior to that managing and driving cross-departmental projects with large revenue and customer-facing impact. She’s passionate about helping authors achieve their goals and ensuring an excellent client experience. Areas of expertise include end-to-end book production, complex book design and illustration management, as well as all stripes of print management. She also knows a thing or two about football, and is one of the firm’s most analytical Monday morning quarterbacks rooting on our beloved Seahawks.

Katherine has been in the book business for over a decade. She has a BA in English literature and a minor in writing from Seattle Pacific University, as well as a certificate in editing from the University of Washington. Prior to joining Girl Friday, Katherine worked as a freelance proofreader and copyeditor, completing projects ranging from cookbooks to novels, memoirs, RPGs, and more. When she isn’t working, Katherine enjoys hanging with her family, chasing her dogs, reading, running, and binge-watching TV.

Katie joined Girl Friday in 2019 after twenty years as a strategic planner at two marketing agencies. Her underdog spirit and love of data helps authors engage with their readers in unique ways. She has yet to find an author who will take advantage of skywriting, but remains hopeful. She’s a Leo, the middle daughter of three, an ENTJ, and fits the stereotypes. Katie loves West Seattle, the Sounders, food trucks, and taxidermy. Also, her family.

Kim earned a BA in English from Western Washington University and a certificate in professional editing from the University of Washington. Before joining Girl Friday in 2015, she completed editorial internships at Sasquatch Books and Fantagraphics Books. She is thrilled to have found her calling in finance, combining her love of books with her love of numbers. When she’s not creating financial spreadsheets, she can be found sewing, playing board games, or reading books with her family. She lives in Seattle.

Kim has a long history of loving books and comes to Girl Friday with over a decade of experience working in all facets of publishing—from acquisitions, to editing, to owning her own book-and-wine shop. She enjoys helping authors produce their dream books and is enthusiastic about connecting books with future readers. When not working you can find her browsing a bookstore or, generally, with her head in a book—preferably somewhere outside.

Kristin is an editor and project manager with over thirteen years of book publishing experience. Before joining Girl Friday, Kristin worked as a freelance editor on a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, including ten New York Times bestsellers. She started her career in New York City, first at John Wiley & Sons, and then at Hachette Book Group as a production editor. She also earned an MS in Publishing: Digital and Print Media at New York University in 2012. Kristin now lives in Seattle and loves exploring the outdoors with her husband and two children.

Kylee garnered her love for literature during her time with the local arts community of Downtown Phoenix while she pursued both her BA in English and MA in Communication from Arizona State University. Prior to GFP, she worked with gorgeous cookbooks, lifestyle, and gift titles at Quarto Publishing Group. Her passion for books grows with each new title, and she hopes to elevate diverse voices through the written word. When not working with books, Kylee enjoys cooking new recipes and developing her own, playing weekly games of pool, running, boxing, and, of course, reading!

LAM is an English PhD program dropout who got an MBA instead of going to law school, though she still loves a good contract. The former executive editor of Seal Press, LAM has also written a dozen or so books, a few with her name on them, and served for years as an award-winning instructor in UW’s Editing Certificate Program. In her day job, she is a warrior bent on exploding corporate culture and gendered straightjackets and on making work an accepting haven for every human. She likes nicknames, gin, ferns, and hounds, not necessarily in that order. She cherishes her two sons, both stellar people and good men (go Navy, beat Army!). She lives with another good man in Seattle.

Paul has been making books for over thirty-five years—half of those in a professional capacity. His work ranges from the illustrated version of David McCullough’s 1776 to Farts: A Spotter’s Guide, and covers most everything in between. He holds a BFA in graphic design and an MFA in creative writing, and loves every aspect of book creation. He is the author of If Satan Goes Bald and The Adolescent Orange, and the co-author of The Baby Boomer's Eye Chart. Born in California and an erstwhile Seattleite, he now lives in Sacramento with his tea plants.

Rachel joined Girl Friday in 2015 as a freelance designer and soon joined the team full time. Before finding her home in the publishing industry, she began her career designing marketing, event, and social media materials for first an investment bank, and then an organ donation agency. She credits this customer service–focused background for her ability to translate an author’s vision into just the right book cover, interior, or website design for them. Rachel earned a BBA in marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and web design certificate from Century College in Minnesota.

Reshma received her BS in technical communication and certificate in professional editing from the University of Washington. She spent over a decade creating, editing, and managing catalogs in the aerospace industry but loves being able to use her more creative side for book publishing. She is a huge advocate for racial equity and inclusion for all and wants to use her role to amplify marginalized stories. She lives in Seattle with her husband, her tabby, and her corgi!

Sara joined Girl Friday in 2015 after several years of working as a freelance editor for publishers, writers, and academics. A proud graduate of Smith College, Sara also attended the University of Washington editing certificate program, switching careers after many years in nonprofit fundraising and in the legal field. Sara loves to share in her authors’ joy and believes in giving encouragement and reassurance always. A self-proclaimed tennis freak, when Sara is not out competing on her many USTA league teams, she loves entertaining, reading cookbooks, traveling to sunny places, and rooting for the Mariners and Seahawks. She is an empty nester living in Seattle and has two grown sons.