Interested in being involved with BAWiP? Join one of our committees!

Reach out directly to our committee chairs for more information. We welcome publishing professionals at all levels.

 

Learn more about what each committee does below:

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Membership

Chair: Dorothy Hearst, dhearst@dorothyhearst.com

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At the center of the BAWiP mission is serving our members. The BAWiP membership committee works to: understand and meet the needs of the BAWiP community, to grow our membership, and to ensure that BAWiP’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion are met in all of our membership activities. The membership committee works in concert with all other BAWiP committees, allowing committee members to understand every aspect of the organization. The membership committee is in a place of revisioning and rebuilding and is focusing on strategy and the nuts and bolts aspects of optimizing members’ interactions with the organization. This is a great opportunity for you if you are excited about helping members have an amazing experience with BAWiP, and if you would like to learn about strategic planning and the inner workings of a publishing nonprofit.

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DEI

Chair: Johanna Vondeling, johanna@johannavondeling.com

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The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee supports the board and BAWiP’s committees in their efforts to advance BAWiP’s Commitments to DEI. We organize trainings for Board and Committee members. We propose topics to the Events Committee and help that committee recruit speakers from communities historically underrepresented in publishing. We organize BAWiP’s BIPOC Affinity Group. And we help track BAWiP’s progress toward our DEI goals and report on that progress annually to the wider community. We are looking for help administering all dimensions of our Task’s Force’s mission; feel free to focus on whichever dimension most excites you. This is a great opportunity if you have a passion for creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive publishing industry, and if you like setting related goals and tracking progress. 

 

Events

Info tk

 

Mentorship

Co-Chairs: Cheryl Cechvala, cheryl.cechvala@gmail.com; Johanna Vondeling, johanna@johannavondeling.com

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The Mentorship Task Force organizes BAWiP’s annual mentorship program. This is a free 9-month program that pairs experienced book publishing professionals with newer or returning entrants to the publishing community. Task Force members solicit applications for mentors and mentees, create pairings based on common interests and goals, and then foster up to 10 pairs each year. We provide formal orientation for participants, monthly tips and tools to supercharge the mentorship relationship, regular check-in’s with Task Force members, and in-person social gatherings of the cohort. We have been running this program since 2020 and have established efficient protocols for every phase of the offering; we are looking for organized folks to help with all aspects of administering the program. This is a great opportunity if you’re excited about helping young and returning professionals get oriented to the industry and advance their careers.

 

Robin Seaman Award

Co-chairs: Michelle Phan, mphan@northatlanticbooks.com; Natalie Gomez, natgracegomez@gmail.com

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Committee members manage the application process for the annual Robin Seaman Award, which honors the late Robin Seaman’s delight in books and her notable accomplishments. It is designed to support women and non-binary people in the Bay Area in their professional growth and to make the publishing industry more diverse and inclusive. Applicants may be at different stages in their career, whether entry-level, returning to work from extended leave, or moving into leadership positions within the industry. The number of recipients may vary from year to year depending on the needs of the applicants. This is a great opportunity if you’re looking for copywriting, copyediting, event planning, award administration, and publicity/communications experience.

 

Communications

Chair: Chloe Wong, cwong@ucpress.edu

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The Communications Committee handles all external communications for BAWiP. We manage the BAWiP email newsletter and social media accounts, and advise on other member-facing content. We are looking for new committee members to help write and create content for our newsletter and social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This is a great opportunity if you’re passionate about copywriting, copyediting, digital marketing, and communications.

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