With the exception of the office manager, EFA is run entirely by volunteers. The board of governors oversees EFA's operations and keeps the membership informed of important developments within the association. The co-executives manage the day-to-day business of running EFA. The committee chairs handle the day-to-day business of the various activities sponsored by EFA. The members at large help set policy at EFA Board meetings. They also serve as representatives of EFA, providing outreach to new and potential members. Often, members at large serve on one or more committees.
Board of Governors
Co-executive, Margaret L. Moser
Margaret trained in the parallel universes of theater and the law in her native Michigan before unexpectedly landing on Wall Street in the 1990s. Happily, she eventually came to her senses and switched gears to become a full-time freelance writer/editor. More happily still, the EFA was there to help in her transition with both job opportunities and collegial support. She has been co-leader of its New Freelancers' Affinity Group since 2004 and was a board member at large, also serving on the EFA's Executive Committee, for the 2005 and 2006 terms. As co-executive director, Margaret looks forward to welcoming more freelancers of every stripe as they navigate the often murky, but ultimately rewarding, waters of working on one's own. (Perhaps she could get some metaphor assistance in return.) A vibrant, growing organization depends on a magical mix of old hands and new blood—and the input of the membership is vital to that elixir.
Co-executive, J.P. Partland
J.P. Partland started freelancing in college. The idea was to eventually land a staff position at something or other somewhere or other. This led to more freelancing. He ran a magazine for five years—as a freelancer. He got in on the ground floor of the Internet revolution—as a freelancer. He was a copywriter for Revlon—as a freelancer. When he finally landed a staff position at an internet startup, he was also editing a book, as a freelancer, and writing articles for other publications. Naturally, the staff position occurred months before the Internet bubble burst and he was back to freelancing. Along the way, clips and jobs piled up. He has checked facts and written for more than sixty publications (newspapers, magazines, you name it), promotional copy, quiz questions, booklets, and three books. He's still working at all of these. J.P. joined the EFA in 1998, was elected to the EFA board sometime thereafter, and has served as a co-executive director since 2001.
Secretary, Cindy Corliss (interim)
Cindy is a relative newcomer to freelancing, having started Bookworm, Inc. (www.bookworminc.com) in 2004. She provides editorial services and functions as editor, indexer, and writer. Before that she worked in the corporate world as a technical editor/in-house indexer for an international ITS association. Cindy joined the EFA in 2008 and has since determined that the vast amount of knowledge shared by more established freelancers and published authors, the available courses, and the professionalism exhibited by EFA volunteers is most helpful and enlightening. Cindy began life as a northerner but currently lives in Florida near a large state park. She enjoys reading (surprise), bicycling, yoga, and supports rescued animals and organizations, especially the Elephant Sanctuary of Tennessee.
Treasurer, vacant
Chapter Development, Kristine Hunt
Kristine Hunt has been a freelance copy editor and proofreader since 2001. Though she has been known to edit such diverse things as bookstore catalogs, master's degree theses, and television show proposals, her heart belongs to scholarly book editing. Kristine truly enjoys helping professors make their complicated thoughts read more clearly and concisely. After living in California and New York, Kristine is now settled in the middle, where she is enjoying living in an Idaho college town. She has begun to pursue a master's degree in history, having completed her bachelor's degree in English in 1993. Kristine joined the EFA in 2007 after deciding to pursue her editing career more seriously. Since then she has come to deeply appreciate all that the EFA has to offer, and in 2009 volunteered to become the Chapter Development chair — merging her interests in supporting her colleagues and working with small social groups. In her spare time, Kristine is learning all about the flora and fauna of the Intermountain West with her husband and two young children.
Education, Lisa Owens
After a decade as an in-house editor who freelanced on the side, Seattle-based writer-editor Lisa L. Owens turned to full-time freelancing in 2002 with the launch of her business, Owens Editorial Ink. Currently, she focuses on writing children's books under the pen name L. L. Owens. She also edits books, writes reviews, conducts school visits, and teaches classes in writing and editing. Lisa says, "Working with EFA's education program means that I get to help implement a major membership benefit. My role provides me with great built-in reasons for professional networking and staying abreast of publishing industry news—and I get to work with many wonderful people in the process."
Job List, Sheila Buff
Sheila Buff began freelancing in 1981 and joined EFA soon after. She has been a member of the EFA board of governors for more than twenty years and served as co-executive director from 1995 to 2001. She was Job List chair from 2001 to 2005, took 2006 off, and came back in 2007. She is also the founder of the EFA discussion list. A writer, co-author, and ghostwriter specializing in health, nutrition, and consumer-oriented medicine, Sheila is the author of six national bestsellers. Her other writing and personal interests include birding, natural history, gardening, and the outdoors. She lives in the small town of Milan in the beautiful mid-Hudson Valley with her husband Joe, a novelist, and their dog Dina. She is an honors graduate of Washington Square College at New York University, where she was a University Scholar and received the Alfred Bush Baer Award as outstanding English major of her class.
Membership, Maria Carlson
Newsletter, Ruth Thaler-Carter
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter (www.writerruth.com "I can write about anything!"™) has been a successful freelance writer/editor for more than twenty-five years, honing her career in St. Louis, MO; Washington, DC; and Baltimore, MD. She joined EFA in 2004 and is EFA's Rochester, NY, chapter coordinator; chaired and spoke at EFA's 2005 national conference; developed and presented a workshop on "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing" in 2006 and 2007; is writing a booklet for EFA based on the workshop; has helped with the Job List; began chairing the EFA newsletter in 2007; and hopes to help EFA offer more conferences in the future. "I'm active in EFA because I believe in networking and in being more than a checkbook member; being visibly involved in an organization yields wonderful results—not just new jobs or projects, but new skills and lasting friendships among members."
Publications, Barbara Magalnick
A freelance writer and editor for more than twenty years, Barbara Magalnick has written and edited materials in fields as diverse as art history, medicine, law, metallurgy, literature and language. Her books include English by Television, English Reader, and Brush Up Your English. Before launching her freelance career, she worked at several major publishing houses and consulted at the Instructional Television Centre in Israel. Certified in English and ESL, Barbara holds a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, taught in New York and Israel, and trained teachers at Penn and in Israel. She is a member of the Authors Guild, a Trustee of the Carnegie Fund for Authors, and has been cited by International Who's Who of Professional and Business Women, Who's Who of Women, and Biography. Her most recent book is Safe Conduct. She can be found at www.barbaramagalnick.com and blogs on barbaraspen.blogspot.com as well as all the usual spots on the Internet.
Website, vacant
Members at Large
Scott Bogue
Scott Bogue has been an EFA member since 2002, and became a member at large and coordinator of the North Carolina chapter in 2007. He sees EFA as a place where freelancers can both give and receive through networking, assistance from colleagues, social contact, and opportunities to help others. His interest in continuing as MAL comes from a dual desire: to help EFA grow, and to help bring more value to members as the board explores, selects, and develops programs, information, lines of communication, and other initiatives. Scott has been a freelance technical editor and writer of training materials, work instructions, marketing materials, and related publications since 1996, after more than twenty-three years as a full-time employee in manufacturing. That background has provided him with a business perspective that he hopes is helpful to the EFA. Raised in New Jersey, Scott has called North Carolina home since 1979.
Chuck Brandstater
Chuck has been a freelance editor and translator (specializing in computer, business, and legal areas) for twelve years, a member of EFA for eight, and a chapter coordinator for EFA Boston for close to eight. In addition to working to help the Boston-area chapter to grow year by year, he has frequently introduced contacts all over the country in order to help other chapters and potential chapters develop. As an EFA member at large, Chuck has for some time enjoyed formally exercising his long-adopted role as an advocate, before members and others, of the association's services, and has greatly appreciated the member votes that have continued to make such formal exercise possible.
Amy Fass
An EFA member since 1994 and a board member since 2000, Amy Fass is a medical and science editor. She is the board's unofficial insurance liaison and coordinated the effort to find replacement health insurance when CIGNA ended coverage through associations in New York State. She lives in Manhattan.
Amy Rose
Amy Robin Rose is a freelance writer, editor, instructional designer, and facilitator who lives in Detroit. In an earlier life, Amy earned her PhD in classical studies and taught at the college level for eight years. She has been an independent contractor since 1991, designing, developing, and delivering employee training programs for both corporate and nonprofit clients. Lately she has returned to editing almost full-time, thanks to a wonderful job she landed through the EFA's job list. A member of EFA since 1991, Amy decided it was time to give back to this great organization. Somehow, among paid and other volunteer work, she will glean time to serve as a member-at-large on the EFA board. When she's not working, look for her at the Detroit Zoo, where she serves as a docent, or otherwise outside gardening, hiking, and enjoying the natural world.
Erin Wilcox
Erin Wilcox has been an editor for eight years, a freelancer for two. She joined the EFA after striking out on her own in August of 2007 and was immediately satisfied with the rewards of membership. In particular, she was elated when potential clients began contacting her through the membership directory just as she was building up her client list in a new town. Erin moved to Tucson, Arizona, from Anchorage, Alaska, where she copyedited for acclaimed national literary journal Alaska Quarterly Review. She holds an MFA in creative writing and literary arts from the University of Alaska, Anchorage (plus an honorary degree in moose wrangling) and a BA in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Erin was first elected to the EFA Board of Governors as member at large in 2008. Her current goals in include strengthening EFA's Arizona chapter and helping the organization use social networking sites to promote its membership.
Enid Yurman
Enid Yurman grew up in New Jersey, lived for many years in Maryland (Columbia), D.C., and Northern Virginia, and is currently living in eastern Idaho. She has worked as a writer and editor for more than twenty years, mostly for local newspapers and magazines and for nonprofit organizations. In recent years, Enid worked as a technical editor and writer for the Idaho National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility. Currently, she is working as a freelance writer and copyeditor for Gale/Cengage Learning. New to the world of freelancing, Enid is very pleased to be a member of EFA and is looking forward to serving the organization by contributing in any way she can.
In memoriam: Jesse Weissman
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The EFA is sad to announce that chapter coordinator Jesse Weissman passed away on Thursday, April 16, 2009. Jesse was a long-time and much valued member of our organization. He initiated the very successful chapter development program in 1997 and did service as a hard-working member at large and as EFA treasurer as well. A proofreader by trade, Jesse will be remembered as a kind and sensitive man who was devoted to his wife Sue-Ellen. His gravelly voice, his gentle demeanor, his service, and his heartfelt signature line, "may you succeed in all your endeavors," will be sorely missed by all of us at EFA.
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