Board and Officers
2011–2012 Boston Chapter Board
| President | Lisa Braxton |
| Vice President | Shin Freedman |
| Secretary | Christine Melchior |
| Treasurer | Katherine Dibble |
| Members at Large | Anne Ipsen, Judith Nies, Jina Ortiz |
| Past Presidents | Erin Brown, Cora Ott |
2011–2012 Boston Chapter Officers
| Bookwoman Correspondent | TBD |
| Outreach Co-chairs | Jean Carr, Karen Roach |
| Publicity Chairperson | TBD |
| Literary Calendar Editor | Karen Roach |
| Web Editor | TBD |
Officer Bios
Lisa Braxton, President
Lisa Braxton is a former radio reporter, newspaper reporter and television news reporter and anchor. A native of Bridgeport, CT., she is currently manager of public education projects for the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, based in Quincy, MA. Lisa’s fiction has been published in Snake Nation Review, The Best of Foliate Oak, New Works Review, Boston NOW, Ken Again, and Meetinghouse:A Journal of New England Fiction. A graduate of Hampton University, Lisa earned a master of science degree at Northwestern University, and her master of fine arts degree in fiction from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently at work on a novel.
Shin Freedman, Vice President
Shin Freedman, a library and information science professional, has been active at WNBA for many years. Her interests and involvement in the world of book publishing goes back to as early as 6 years old. “I used to make my own toy books to entertain myself...” A former editor at Encyclopedia Britannica (Korea), Shin reviews books and electronic resources for academic and research libraries and writes articles. Her essays have been published in newspapers and magazines internationally and in a column, Under the Deep-Rooted Tree for a Korean-American newspaper in the greater Boston area.
Christine Melchior, Secretary
Christine Melchior has been a consultant with Keystone Associates, a national career management firm for more than 20 years. She counsels and guides laid-off individuals toward reemployment. She has also worked concurrently as a freelance business writer, having begun working in the field of corporate communication after college. She is a recipient of the National MacEachern Award for excellence in magazine writing. In recent years, she has been writing fiction and is currently working on her first novel, A Period of Absence. She was selected to attend the prestigious Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Ripton, Vermont, in 2003, 2007, and 2009. Christine has a B.S. degree in Corporate Communication and an M.S. degree in Science Communication from Boston University.
Katherine K. Dibble, Treasurer
A long-time Roslindale resident, Katherine has been active in the Boston Chapter for many years, including serving as President. She has also served on the national level, including chairing the WNBA award in 2000 and serving as chair of the nominating committee. She was appointed to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in 2005 after a long career with the Boston Public Library, most recently as Director of Public Services. She has been a Trustee of the French Library and Cultural Center in Boston, and is currently a Board Member of the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
Anne Ipsen, Member at Large
Anne Ipsen is a writer, speaker, and storyteller. She is the author of two memoirs and three historical novels. In her latest novel, At the Concord of the Rivers (2011), she continues to explore her interest in history and love of the special town of Concord by spinning a tale of the Puritans in 1692. Before leaving the University of Minnesota in order to write full-time, Dr. Ipsen was Professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota and is therefore an experienced speaker and teacher. As well as book talks and readings, she has spoken on diverse topics drawn from the historical background of her books and: On Being an Independent Writer, Danes and Happiness, and The Miracles of the Danish Jews. She and her husband live in Newton and have three grown children.
Judith Nies, Member at Large
Judith Nies is an author, essayist, and teacher. She has worked as a journalist, teacher, historian, researcher, and speechwriter. Her memoir and narrative history of the 1960s, The Girl I Left Behind, was published in June 2008 by Harper Collins.
Her books include: Nine Women: Portraits from the American Radical Tradition, which has been in print for over thirty years (UCal Press, 2002, first published as Seven Women, Viking Penguin, 1977), and Native American History (Ballantine, 1996). Her essays and reviews have been published in The New York Times, Boston Globe, The Progressive, American Voice, and Orion. Her essay "The Black Mesa Syndrome," which was a finalist for the John Oaks Environmental Journalism Award, is included in the anthology The Future of Nature (Milkweed Press 2008).
Jina Ortiz, Member at Large
Jina Ortiz earned her MFA in Creative Writing at Pine Manor College. Her poetry has been published in the Afro-Hispanic Review, Calabash, Green Mountains Review, Worcester Review, The Caribbean Writer and Solstice Literary Magazine. She received residency fellowships from the Art Omi/Ledig House International Writers’ Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and Can Serrat Residency in Barcelona, Spain, among other residencies.