Christine A. Eichelberger, President
Christine retired in 2019 from a 32-year career in commercial banking, most recently as Senior Vice President at Canandaigua National Bank. She holds an MBA from the Simon School at the University of Rochester and an undergraduate degree in mathematics.
William J. Grande, Secretary
Bill retired in January 2022 from Micropen Technologies (now Exxelia Micropen), where he was employed since 2004 as Chief Technology Officer & VP, overseeing the Company’s R&D, new product development, and business development activities. His career spanned both academic and industrial settings and included an engineering faculty appointment at Rochester Institute of Technology and research scientist positions at Kodak, Cornell, and IITRI. An expert in microfabrication for nearly 40 years, he worked in a diverse range of technologies, always with the aim of building tangible, leading edge devices. An avid multidisciplinary researcher, Bill holds 24 US patents in a wide range of technologies including micro bearings, medical devices, and hydrogen gas storage.
Jaylene Carpenter, Treasurer
Jaylene joined Bonn, Dioguardi & Ray, LLP, in 2012 as Manager, Accountant, and Auditor. Her responsibilities include managing the firm’s financial and human resources affairs and providing bookkeeping services for clients.
Mark Boylan
Mark retired from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2019 after 18 years with the university. He is now a part-time faculty member at RIT. Previously, he worked in the corporate world as a marketing executive and was a principal in a local management consulting firm. In addition to Writers and Books, Mark has served with other local organizations, both as a board member and volunteer, including Al Sigl Center, Equicenter, Genesee Valley Club, Hillside Family of Agencies, Memorial Art Gallery, McQuaid Jesuit, Rochester Community Players, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, St. John’s Home, St. Thomas More Church, Simone Center at RIT, and YMCA of Greater Rochester. He is a member of Rochester Rotary and the Country Club of Rochester, as well as three social/literary roundtables, Gaggle, Institute of Fellows and OASIS. Marks lives in Pittsford with his wife Anne. They have two grown children and one grandchild.
Eric G. Cook
Eric is Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor, and Senior Portfolio Manager at RBC Wealth Management. Previously, he worked in Manhattan for nearly a decade as a sportswriter and sports programming coordinator, where he learned the value of storytelling.
Jacquelyn Cox-Smalls
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Jacquelyn is a retired elementary school principal with 33 years of experience in education. She believes that education morphs a child’s life, giving them freedom to think, express, advocate and change the world. Throughout her career in the Rochester City School District as classroom teacher, literacy specialist, teacher coach, and school administrator, her passion has been providing equity and access to urban students with a focus on increasing opportunities for students to engage with creative art experiences and new academic learning. Jacquelyn recently launched Soulchild Studio, Inc: Reimagining Mind and Space with the goals of inspiring freedom of expression through re-vision of thought, voice, and choice and encouraging parents and educators to embrace emancipatory pedagogy at home and in the classroom.
Lester David Friedman
Les is Emeritus Professor and former chair of the Media and Society Program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Previously, he taught cinema studies at Syracuse, Northwestern, and American Universities and at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also taught health humanities and bioethics at Upstate Medical Center (Syracuse) and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (Chicago). The author, co-author, and editor of over 20 books and numerous articles, his areas of academic specialties include film genres, American cinema of the 1970s, American Jewish cinema, British film of the 1980s, and Health and Humanities. A winner of the National Jewish Book Award (Visual Arts), he authored two screenplays that are the basis of independent films.
Beverly Gold
Bev is a semi-retired clinical social worker in private practice. She has served as President of the Parent Teacher Student Association of School 23 and School of the Arts in Rochester, NY, as well as President of the Rochester Association of Clinical Social Workers. She has been involved with Writers & Books since inception as member, supporter, and board member.
Grant Holcomb
Grant served as Director of the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery for 29 years, retiring in 2014. During his tenure, he established a legacy of joining arms with cultural institutions around the community, enlarging the art museum and collection, and creating a more inviting campus.
Frank A. Interlichia
Frank is Senior Consultant & Principal at Marts & Lundy, a full-service fundraising consulting firm with an international client base. Previously, he served as Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Celeste Kier
Celeste is Senior VP/Director of Marketing & Customer Experience at ESL Federal Credit Union. A past Board President of Writers & Books, she also serves on the board of the George Eastman Museum and on the United Way Women’s Leadership Council Advisory Board. Formerly, she was a board member of Hope Hall and the SUNY Geneseo School of Business Advisory Council. A native of Pennsylvania, Celeste earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Rochester and her MBA from the William E. Simon School.
David Mihalyov
David is Vice President for University Relations at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. Prior to joining the College in 2008, he worked in the telecom industry for 10 years and at the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper from 1989 to 1999. His book of poems, A Safe Distance, was published by Main Street Rag in early 2022. He and his family live in Webster, NY.
Randy K. Morgenstern
Randy is a Rochester native who spent her higher-level academic years and early employment responsibilities outside New York State. She returned to Rochester in the early 80’s to marry her high school sweetheart and raise her fabulous son. Professionally, she contributed to the success of the Jewish Community Center and Israel Bonds, created and curated the perennially popular Jewish Book Festival, and began the Jewish Singles Network. She went on to direct the Women’s Philanthropy Division of the Jewish Federation for 14 years, overseeing over $2 million in philanthropic funds and celebrating over 100 Lions of Judah, the highest giving level for women. Randy now oversees the Human Resources needs of the successful owner-involved business Radio Social, where she is proud to assist an incredible team of 65 committed staff members. Since moving from the suburb of Brighton in 2008 to Rochester’s St. Paul Quarter, Randy is thrilled to have had the time and desire to become involved in all things downtown. Joining the Writers & Books’ board is a dream come true; she looks forward to learning from the organization and giving of her skills and passion.
Stephanie Paredes
Stephanie is Assistant Director of Multicultural Programs at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where she oversees the Women of Color, Honor and Ambition program serving students who identify as women or nonbinary, with an emphasis on women of color. She also directs RIT’s MOSAIC Center, which supports students from all backgrounds as they explore the intersections of their identities and transform into leaders for a diverse and global society. She is a co-founder and board member of Rochester Latino Theatre Company and has contributed to youth and adult programming at Writers & Books.
Timothy B. Schmid
Tim is a 1989 graduate of Clarkson University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Communications. He began his career in the advertising industry working for a small firm, where his responsibilities included copywriting, proofreading, and graphic design. After being hired to provide marketing support to a real estate broker, he shifted his career focus and obtained his real estate and broker licenses, representing both buyers and sellers of residential and commercial properties. He received the Saratoga County Rookie of the Year award for achieving the highest volume of sales of all first-year real estate agents in the county. He then moved into a property management career, spending the last 25 years in a variety of roles, including Vice President of Operations at Costanza Enterprises and his current position of Director of Operations at Konar Properties. Since childhood, Tim has been an avid reader and writer, and recently self-published three novels. He has been married to his wife, Roseann, for 30 years. They have two adult children. Tim is thrilled to have the opportunity to help Writers & Books pursue its mission to promote and celebrate the joys of reading and writing.
Brad VanAuken
Brad is president and founder of BrandForward, Inc., a brand strategy consultancy with clients throughout the world. Previously, he was the vice president of marketing for Element K (now Skillsoft), a leading e-learning company, and director of brand management and marketing for Hallmark Cards, Inc. During his tenure as Hallmark’s chief brand advocate, Hallmark rose to 4th in the EquiTrend national quality brand ranking and received the Brand Management of the Year award. Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on brand management and marketing, he is the author of Brand Aid: A Quick Reference Guide to Solving Your Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position and The Brand Management Checklist: Proven Tools and Techniques for Creating Winning Brands. He is a much sought-after speaker and writer who has been interviewed by ADWEEK, CNN, Entrepreneur magazine, Forbes magazine, Fox News, HLN, Investor’s Business Daily, NPR and The Bloomberg Money Show. Brad was an adjunct professor of marketing at Avila University and RIT and has been a guest lecturer at many universities, including Harvard, Stanford and Northwestern.