EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alex George is the author of six novels, including A GOOD AMERICAN and SETTING FREE THE KITES, both of which were chosen as Indie Next picks by America’s independent booksellers. His next novel is due to be published by Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, next summer. A native of England, Alex read law at Oxford University and worked for eight years as a corporate lawyer in London and Paris. He has lived in the Midwest for the last fifteen years. In addition to writing books and running the Unbound Book Festival, he also runs his own law firm and recently opened Skylark Bookshop, an independent bookstore in downtown Columbia, Missouri.

PRESIDENT

Katie Doherty is a reader, a recovering journalist, a full-time editor, and a marketing Swiss army knife. Originally from Jefferson City, she holds a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where her studies emphasized newspaper editing and design, linguistics, and Russian language. After stints in newspapers and content marketing, she’s now a learning and development project manager at EquipmentShare. In her downtime, she bakes oversized cookies, cooks up vegetarian delicacies, and devours nonfiction. She believes cookbooks are the best comfort reading. She lives in Columbia with her husband, Jeremy; her daughter, Vivian; and her blue Great Dane, Dusty.

TREASURER
Keri serves as the Director of Financial Aid at Stephens College. She started her career in financial aid at the University of Missouri-Columbia and rapidly discovered her passion for helping students navigate the complex world of paying for college. She has a deep love for advocacy and has visited with legislators in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. to fight for program funding and initiatives to simplify the financial aid process. Keri’s passion and dedication to students and their success is infectious, and she has received numerous awards for her committee efforts and individual contributions at both the state and regional level. Keri is a Certified Financial Aid Administrator® and has earned all 17 NASFAA credentials. In addition to her work with Stephens, Keri serves on the Executive Board of the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel, the Executive Board of the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the City of Columbia New Century Fund, Inc. Board of Directors, and the Executive Board of the Unbound Book Festival. Keri received her Master of Public Affairs from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

SECRETARY
Originally from Louisiana (the state, not the town), Sadie Thibodeaux relocated to Columbia in 2004 and has been growing roots ever since. Raised within her family’s photography business, it was clear to her at an early age that she wanted some sort of creative career. While attending SCAD to earn her BA in Photography, Sadie discovered a love for design that has grown throughout her career. She is currently the creative designer at the Masonic Home of Missouri. A bonafide cat person, Sadie lives in a very full house with her boyfriend, Alex, their five cats (Morrie, Maggie, Sammie, Jules, and Turk) and their dog, Charley (whom Sadie has come to view as just another cat.) 

In 2018, Jenelle Beavers joined the UM System Office of the General Counsel after serving as the Associate Director of MU’s Honors College. Before moving back to Missouri, she spent eight years as a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice. In 2011, she earned a special commendation from the Assistant Attorney General for Outstanding Service for her work on behalf of U.S. taxpayers. From 2005-2008, she was a litigation associate in the Washington D.C. office of Latham & Watkins where she represented individuals, non-profit and for-profit entities, and other institutional clients in white collar and governmental investigations and civil litigation. Originally from Kansas City, MO, Ms. Beavers holds a B.A. in English from MU. She earned her J.D. and M.P.H. from the University of Michigan where she was an editor of the Michigan Law Review. Ms. Beavers also currently serves on the Missouri Supreme Court’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness and the Kinder Institute Advisory Board.

Brooke Collier is a marketing strategist by day and reader by night who fills the in-between time with family, friends, and doom scrolling. She graduated with her bachelor's in journalism with an emphasis in strategic communication from the University of Missouri and soon after made Columbia her community as a young professional. Having grown up in a tight-knit Missouri town, where her family has been and continues to be active community members, it only made sense for her to find another way to further ingrain herself in Columbia. Brooke did so by joining the Unbound Book Festival in February 2020 and has helped the festival strive toward its goals ever since.

Joe Marshall is a long time Columbia resident, but originally hails from Ireland. He is a craftsman by trade, designing and building award winning custom furniture which can be found in homes and boardrooms across the United States. He has always loved story and holds a particular fondness for Irish writing: everything from classical work by James Joyce, Sean B Keene, and Flan O’Brien to more modern work by Claire Keegan, Kevin Barry, and Billy O’Callaghan. Writing has been a hobby for years, but upon being introduced to members of Columbia’s literary community, became a more important part of his life. Their encouragement helped him complete his first novel, which he hopes to publish soon, and begin work on two more and several short stories.

Lauren Miers is a writer and marketing specialist based in the Midwest. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Portuguese, which came in handy when she briefly lived in Brazil. For over six years, she has been strategizing for nonprofits and writing about a variety of topics, including food, business, productivity and religion. Avid reader, lover of the library and lifelong learner: She is a red-headed communicator who appreciates a well-constructed sentence and has a passion for reaching others in fresh and innovative ways.

Antwaun Smith joined the Office of the General Counsel in 2018, after ten years of work in litigation, corporate investigations, and employment counseling. He currently advises and represents the University in areas including employment, equity, and litigation. From 2007-2012, Smith was an associate attorney with Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, where he worked on a range of matters including insurance coverage litigation, product liability class actions, employment litigation, and personal injury defense. From 2012-2018, Smith was a partner in his own firm, with a focus on plaintiff-side personal injury and insurance coverage disputes.

Smith has served on a number of boards over the years. Most recently, he served as a trustee and chair of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri State Employees Retirement System. He has also served on the Board of Governors for the Missouri Bar and on the board of The Midwest Innocence Project.

Smith earned a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He also has an M.B.A. from Oxford University, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.

McKenna is a junior at the University of Missouri. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, McKenna splits her time between the deserts of Arizona and the humidity of Missouri and is working towards her bachelor’s degrees in strategic communication and political science while at school. A lifelong lover of stories and storytelling, she enjoys analyzing books and films and how they fit into our society as a whole. While she’s not reading or watching movies, McKenna is usually doing yoga, baking a cheesecake, or hanging out with her cat, Cleopatra.

Kerry Townsend is a lover of information, media and stories. She is the Library Media Coordinator for Columbia Public Schools and a former middle school librarian and high school English teacher. Kerry earned degrees in Education, Educational Technology, and Administration from the University of Missouri College of Education where she is also a PhD Candidate in Information Science and Learning Technologies. Kerry helped develop the Authors in Schools program, connecting students in Columbia Public Schools with authors such as Alan Gratz, Ruta Sepetys, and Jacqueline Woodson. Kerry lives in Columbia with her husband, David, and two teens, Blair and Charlie.