Welcome to Board Member Kuo-Yu Liang & Development Coordinator Kera Yonker; Many Thanks to Departing Board Members Jen Reynolds and Lori Tucker-Sullivan
As the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation kicks off our 25th anniversary year, we are thrilled to welcome Kuo-Yu Liang as a new Board member. Kuo-Yu has spent 30+ years in the books and comics business. His first job out of school was at Central Park Bookstore in San Mateo, CA. From there the journey took him to publishing (Random House), distribution (Diamond Comics), events (BookExpo and New York Comic Con). He has served on various advisory boards (including Bertelsmann, Lucasfilm and Shelf Awareness) and is the founder of a pop culture publishing consultancy, Ku Worldwide. Originally from Taiwan, he now lives in Seattle.
“Having the opportunity to serve on the Binc board is a privilege to give back to the industry that has given me so much,” Kuo-Yu said.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Kuo-Yu. The depth and breadth of knowledge that he brings from the book and comics industries is immensely valuable as we help booksellers and comic retailers to navigate the volatile retail landscape,” said Pamela French, Binc’s executive director. “We especially look forward to benefiting from his strategic planning expertise to guide the Foundation’s continued growth.”
Binc thanks our two outgoing Board members Jen Reynolds and Lori Tucker-Sullivan. Jen is a national accounts manager for W. W. Norton. She has worked in bookselling and publishing for 25 years, including at Joseph-Beth/Davis-Kidd Booksellers, PGW/Perseus, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She served on the advisory council of the Southern Independent Bookseller Alliance and on the boards of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Friends of Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University. She is especially known among our Board for her advocacy and strong showing in Binc’s annual year-end fundraising campaign.
Lori Tucker-Sullivan is an author and a program manager for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Wayne State University. She was previously executive director of the Independent Booksellers Consortium, Inc. Lori served seven years as Board president, spending this final year on the Board as immediate past-president. Binc thanks Lori for her long service and deft counsel as the Foundation has grown in the past eight years in its mission of serving booksellers and comic retailers across the country.
Binc also welcomes Kera Yonker as development coordinator. Kera joined Binc in November, just in time to play a key role in our record-setting year-end campaign, which raised more than $160,000. Kera began her career as a bookseller at Green Apple Books & Music in San Francisco. She has since worked in sales and marketing for a number of publishers and distributors including PGW, Oxford University Press, and Perseus Books Group. Before joining the Binc Foundation, she combined her passions for writing and bookselling as a freelance book editor and marketer.
Kera can be reached via email at kera@bincfoundation.org or her direct phone number is 734-274-4240. Kera will work primarily from her North Carolina home office, but once it is safe to resume regular travel, she will spend time in our Ann Arbor office as needed.
“We thank Jen and Lori for their advocacy and leadership, and welcome Kuo-Yu to the Board, and Kera to the staff. I am thankful for all of the talented individuals who lend their expertise to move the Foundation forward,” said Binc executive director Pamela French.