2024 ASI Conference—Speaker Biographies
Anna Aridome
Anna Aridome completed the UC Berkeley indexing course in 2022 and specializes in books about Japanese culture (particularly art and design). She studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design and Japanese history and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Before turning to indexing, she worked as a graphic designer and user experience researcher. Anna is originally from Chicago and now lives in Maine.
Anna Aridome completed the UC Berkeley indexing course in 2022 and specializes in books about Japanese culture (particularly art and design). She studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design and Japanese history and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Before turning to indexing, she worked as a graphic designer and user experience researcher. Anna is originally from Chicago and now lives in Maine.
Nan Badgett
Nan Badgett, dba Wordability, has been providing freelance indexing services to publishers, authors, and corporate clients since 1992. Her work is focused on trade books and textbooks in a wide range of subjects, including health and nutrition, sports training, and education. Nan is the author of The Accidental Indexer and has contributed to several books published for the American Society for Indexing (ASI). She has presented at past ASI conferences and presented at the Indexers Society of Canada conference in 2018. Nan has served ASI at both the chapter and national levels, including as a board member at large.
Nan Badgett, dba Wordability, has been providing freelance indexing services to publishers, authors, and corporate clients since 1992. Her work is focused on trade books and textbooks in a wide range of subjects, including health and nutrition, sports training, and education. Nan is the author of The Accidental Indexer and has contributed to several books published for the American Society for Indexing (ASI). She has presented at past ASI conferences and presented at the Indexers Society of Canada conference in 2018. Nan has served ASI at both the chapter and national levels, including as a board member at large.
Connie Binder
Connie Binder has enjoyed the freelance indexing life for over 20 years. She is still somewhat amazed that she gets paid for sitting at home (or lying in her hammock) and reading/indexing great books. Experienced in indexing history, biography, sports, music, travel, children’s books, cookbooks, reference works, and revised editions, she cannot imagine a better life.
Connie Binder has enjoyed the freelance indexing life for over 20 years. She is still somewhat amazed that she gets paid for sitting at home (or lying in her hammock) and reading/indexing great books. Experienced in indexing history, biography, sports, music, travel, children’s books, cookbooks, reference works, and revised editions, she cannot imagine a better life.
JoAnne Burek
JoAnne Burek has been indexing since 2017. She has indexed dozens of books in history, biography, business, and computer topics. She has now indexed eight cookbooks. She also helps indexers with their marketing and website questions.
JoAnne Burek has been indexing since 2017. She has indexed dozens of books in history, biography, business, and computer topics. She has now indexed eight cookbooks. She also helps indexers with their marketing and website questions.
Michele Combs
Michele Combs, MS/LIS is the Lead Archivist at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University where she oversees the manuscript processing unit. She has been a freelance editor and indexer for nearly 20 years, has taught workshops on XML encoding and XML indexing, and spends far too much of her free time as a Goodeads librarian, obsessively correcting metadata for books.
Michele Combs, MS/LIS is the Lead Archivist at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University where she oversees the manuscript processing unit. She has been a freelance editor and indexer for nearly 20 years, has taught workshops on XML encoding and XML indexing, and spends far too much of her free time as a Goodeads librarian, obsessively correcting metadata for books.
Theresa Duran
Theresa Duran, PhD, has been an ASI member since 2004, when she started dabbling in indexing while working as a staff editor at a San Francisco publishing house. Shortly thereafter, she left that job to became a full-time freelancer, offering indexing, copyediting, and proofreading services. Today, she focuses primarily on indexing art books. A resident of Marin County, California, Theresa is the current president of ASI (2023–24).
Theresa Duran, PhD, has been an ASI member since 2004, when she started dabbling in indexing while working as a staff editor at a San Francisco publishing house. Shortly thereafter, she left that job to became a full-time freelancer, offering indexing, copyediting, and proofreading services. Today, she focuses primarily on indexing art books. A resident of Marin County, California, Theresa is the current president of ASI (2023–24).
Lisa Fedorak
Lisa Fedorak indexes scholarly works in the humanities and social sciences with a focus on fine arts, social justice and business. Her formal education includes an MFA and as a former executive director of, and consultant for non-profit arts organizations, Lisa brings her interdisciplinary art and business background to bear on her indexes and freelance business practices.
Lisa Fedorak indexes scholarly works in the humanities and social sciences with a focus on fine arts, social justice and business. Her formal education includes an MFA and as a former executive director of, and consultant for non-profit arts organizations, Lisa brings her interdisciplinary art and business background to bear on her indexes and freelance business practices.
A member of the Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI), Lisa has been actively involved in the Society as the Membership Secretary, BC Regional Representative, conference programmer or conference committee chair (2020-2023), and was an instigator in the resuscitation of the member’s rate survey. In 2021 she was awarded the Tamarack Award for her volunteer contributions.
Amy Hall
Amy Hall has been a member of ASI since 2006 and was elected to ASI’s Board of Directors in 2022. She was the featured presenter for the three-part ASI Online Learning Course Culinary Indexing—Food for Thought. Amy enjoys indexing both comprehensive and specialty cookbooks, as well as general trade books. She lives with her family in Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, where she enjoys exploring DC’s many museums and galleries.
Amy Hall has been a member of ASI since 2006 and was elected to ASI’s Board of Directors in 2022. She was the featured presenter for the three-part ASI Online Learning Course Culinary Indexing—Food for Thought. Amy enjoys indexing both comprehensive and specialty cookbooks, as well as general trade books. She lives with her family in Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, where she enjoys exploring DC’s many museums and galleries.
Mylinh Hamlington
Mylinh Hamlington started her indexing journey January 2023 and started indexing professionally May 2023. With a background in education, child development, and library science, she is a former public library manager of Youth and Family Services. She lives near Los Angeles, California with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. When not indexing she enjoys crafting, reading, playing board games, and watching reality television.
Mylinh Hamlington started her indexing journey January 2023 and started indexing professionally May 2023. With a background in education, child development, and library science, she is a former public library manager of Youth and Family Services. She lives near Los Angeles, California with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. When not indexing she enjoys crafting, reading, playing board games, and watching reality television.
Jolanta Komornicka
Jolanta (Jola) is co-president of the Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation. She comes to indexing by way of academia, where she was an assistant professor of medieval history. Working primarily in the academic humanities and social sciences, she loves working on materials related to the medieval and early modern periods, military history, comic books, and tabletop roleplaying games. When not indexing or editing, she tries to escape the computer to game, hike, and read; if she can’t escape and is in a Zoom meeting, she’ll be knitting.
Jolanta (Jola) is co-president of the Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation. She comes to indexing by way of academia, where she was an assistant professor of medieval history. Working primarily in the academic humanities and social sciences, she loves working on materials related to the medieval and early modern periods, military history, comic books, and tabletop roleplaying games. When not indexing or editing, she tries to escape the computer to game, hike, and read; if she can’t escape and is in a Zoom meeting, she’ll be knitting.
Amron Lehte
Amron Lehte is the owner of Wild Clover Book Services. She has been indexing since 2011, when she completed UC Berkeley Indexing Theory and Application course and later completed additional indexing coursework at UCB and Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Her indexing work mostly encompasses academic presses books on the arts, child and family studies, cultural identity, environment, feminism and gender studies, land politics, language and literary studies, political biographies, queer studies, racial (in)justice, religion, social justice, and urban studies. WildCloverBooks.com
Amron Lehte is the owner of Wild Clover Book Services. She has been indexing since 2011, when she completed UC Berkeley Indexing Theory and Application course and later completed additional indexing coursework at UCB and Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Her indexing work mostly encompasses academic presses books on the arts, child and family studies, cultural identity, environment, feminism and gender studies, land politics, language and literary studies, political biographies, queer studies, racial (in)justice, religion, social justice, and urban studies. WildCloverBooks.com
Fred Leise
Since 1995, Fred Leise has been indexing a broad variety of texts, specializing in scholarly works in international relations, cultural and political history, film studies, music, and contemporary social issues. His index to Art and Affection: A Life of Virginia Woolf was shortlisted for the 1997 Excellence in Indexing Award.
Since 1995, Fred Leise has been indexing a broad variety of texts, specializing in scholarly works in international relations, cultural and political history, film studies, music, and contemporary social issues. His index to Art and Affection: A Life of Virginia Woolf was shortlisted for the 1997 Excellence in Indexing Award.
Fred also works as a freelance taxonomy consultant, having completed projects for Fortune 500 companies, as well as several clients in the hospitality and travel industry.
He was an instructor for the University of California, Berkeley Extension Division online indexing courses for 10 years. He has served several terms on ASI’s board of directors, including two terms as president. He was a recipient of ASI’s Hines Award in 2019.
Fred regularly presents at both national and chapter events and has written a number of articles on various aspects of indexing for both Key Words and The Indexer.
Frances Lennie
Frances S. Lennie has been writing indexes since 1977. She was the developer of CINDEX™ indexing software, and her company Indexing Research is based in Rochester, NY. Over the years she has served on ASI's Board of Directors as president (twice) and treasurer (three terms), and has contributed to many publications and given presentations and workshops both in the United States and overseas. Currently she serves as the ANZSI representative to ICRIS (International Committee of Representatives of Indexing Societies).
Frances S. Lennie has been writing indexes since 1977. She was the developer of CINDEX™ indexing software, and her company Indexing Research is based in Rochester, NY. Over the years she has served on ASI's Board of Directors as president (twice) and treasurer (three terms), and has contributed to many publications and given presentations and workshops both in the United States and overseas. Currently she serves as the ANZSI representative to ICRIS (International Committee of Representatives of Indexing Societies).
John Magee
John Magee is the Director of Metadata Services for Cengage Gale, where he has worked in a variety of indexing and metadata roles for more than 25 years. He lives in Wolverine Lake, Michigan, with his wife Monique and Benny Beagle, his new work-from-home colleague in the role of Associate Treat Inspector. He has too many old British cars. Ask him about them and he will bore you with pictures and tales of mechanical woe.
John Magee is the Director of Metadata Services for Cengage Gale, where he has worked in a variety of indexing and metadata roles for more than 25 years. He lives in Wolverine Lake, Michigan, with his wife Monique and Benny Beagle, his new work-from-home colleague in the role of Associate Treat Inspector. He has too many old British cars. Ask him about them and he will bore you with pictures and tales of mechanical woe.
Kendra Millis
Kendra Millis began indexing in 2008, after completing the UC-Berkeley indexing course. She left a career in international education and chose to become a freelancer so she could return to her home state of Maine to raise her daughter. Her educational background is in Russian literature and social philosophy, although her indexing work spans a broad range of topics. She is currently one of the UC-Berkeley instructors and also owns a small fiber-arts business.
Kendra Millis began indexing in 2008, after completing the UC-Berkeley indexing course. She left a career in international education and chose to become a freelancer so she could return to her home state of Maine to raise her daughter. Her educational background is in Russian literature and social philosophy, although her indexing work spans a broad range of topics. She is currently one of the UC-Berkeley instructors and also owns a small fiber-arts business.
KEYNOTE Sarah Ohanesian
Sarah is a former Chief Marketing Officer who decided to take on the insurmountable mission of ending burnout. No big deal, right? Throughout her career, she started to realize that high-performing individuals were hitting all the marks on paper, but in reality, they were stressed out, unfulfilled, and so stinkin’ busy. She knew she had to do something about it. And if there's anything a high achiever is good at, it's creating more work for themselves. So she started a business SO Productive…then, co-founded another Super Productive. It was there that she discovered the hidden power of neurodiversity to accomplish extraordinary things. As a keynote speaker and productivity consultant, Sarah brings you the much-needed answers to find focus and ban burnout.
Sarah is a former Chief Marketing Officer who decided to take on the insurmountable mission of ending burnout. No big deal, right? Throughout her career, she started to realize that high-performing individuals were hitting all the marks on paper, but in reality, they were stressed out, unfulfilled, and so stinkin’ busy. She knew she had to do something about it. And if there's anything a high achiever is good at, it's creating more work for themselves. So she started a business SO Productive…then, co-founded another Super Productive. It was there that she discovered the hidden power of neurodiversity to accomplish extraordinary things. As a keynote speaker and productivity consultant, Sarah brings you the much-needed answers to find focus and ban burnout.
Kamm Schreiner
Kamm Schreiner is the owner of SKY Software and the programmer of SKY Index Professional. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in electrical engineering and a minor in Math. Since he released the professional version of SKY Index he has given numerous presentations on SKY Index in both the U.S. and Canada. Prior to becoming self employed he worked on flight simulators and in the Research and Development department of AAI Corp and Singer-Link. He has been programming since high school and found that he preferred programming over electrical engineering when he was tasked with doing some of the programming for a project he was designing hardware for as part of his first job after graduation. In his spare time he is an amateur musician and songwriter.
Kamm Schreiner is the owner of SKY Software and the programmer of SKY Index Professional. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in electrical engineering and a minor in Math. Since he released the professional version of SKY Index he has given numerous presentations on SKY Index in both the U.S. and Canada. Prior to becoming self employed he worked on flight simulators and in the Research and Development department of AAI Corp and Singer-Link. He has been programming since high school and found that he preferred programming over electrical engineering when he was tasked with doing some of the programming for a project he was designing hardware for as part of his first job after graduation. In his spare time he is an amateur musician and songwriter.
Joan Shapiro
Joan Shapiro has been indexing for over 20 years, working with a wide range of subject matter for trade and scholarly books. Joan holds a bachelor degree in mass communication and a master of library science. She is a former ASI Board Member-at-Large and former New England ASI chapter president.
Joan Shapiro has been indexing for over 20 years, working with a wide range of subject matter for trade and scholarly books. Joan holds a bachelor degree in mass communication and a master of library science. She is a former ASI Board Member-at-Large and former New England ASI chapter president.
Judy Staigmiller
Judy worked behind the scenes in an academic library for many years, so when she learned about indexing, she realized it might be a good match for her. She had her first paid gig in 2015 and finds it a retirement career that often does not seem like work. It contributes to her life-long love of informal learning.
Judy worked behind the scenes in an academic library for many years, so when she learned about indexing, she realized it might be a good match for her. She had her first paid gig in 2015 and finds it a retirement career that often does not seem like work. It contributes to her life-long love of informal learning.
Maria Sullivan
After having worked in libraries and a law firm, Maria started in legal indexing in 1988, as part of the in-house indexing team at Lawyers Cooperative Publishing (now Thomson Reuters West Legal). Maria thrives on helping fellow indexers, publishers, and organizations tackle their indexing challenges. From workflow solutions to composition plans and data conversion services, she will always find a solution. Since 1994, Maria has been providing Cindex support and training, first with Indexing Research, then from 2022 as Scribendi’s sole indexer support. When Scribendi released Cindex as open source, Maria spearheaded the drive to ensure that Cindex would continue to be available for all users. Originally from the foothills of New York’s Adirondacks Mountains, she spent many years in Western NY, and currently resides with her husband in the foothills of Western Massachusetts.
After having worked in libraries and a law firm, Maria started in legal indexing in 1988, as part of the in-house indexing team at Lawyers Cooperative Publishing (now Thomson Reuters West Legal). Maria thrives on helping fellow indexers, publishers, and organizations tackle their indexing challenges. From workflow solutions to composition plans and data conversion services, she will always find a solution. Since 1994, Maria has been providing Cindex support and training, first with Indexing Research, then from 2022 as Scribendi’s sole indexer support. When Scribendi released Cindex as open source, Maria spearheaded the drive to ensure that Cindex would continue to be available for all users. Originally from the foothills of New York’s Adirondacks Mountains, she spent many years in Western NY, and currently resides with her husband in the foothills of Western Massachusetts.
Devon Thomas
Devon Thomas has been a freelance indexer since 2006. Her work includes traditional back-of-the-book indexing and embedded indexing in InDesign, XML, and Microsoft Word. Devon indexes in a wide range of topics, with an emphasis on the humanities, but enjoys books from many subject areas.
Devon Thomas has been a freelance indexer since 2006. Her work includes traditional back-of-the-book indexing and embedded indexing in InDesign, XML, and Microsoft Word. Devon indexes in a wide range of topics, with an emphasis on the humanities, but enjoys books from many subject areas.
She is the current International Representative for ASI, as well as a past-President and board member. Devon is also an instructor for the UC Berkeley online indexing course. In her spare time she cooks, gardens, and dances ballet and tango.
Pilar Wyman
Pilar Wyman, chief indexer and consultant, Wyman Indexing, has been writing indexes and providing related services for over 32 years. Currently, she is the leader of the ASI Digital Publications Indexing Special Interest Group (DPI-SIG) and Regional Sales Manager, USA/Canada for Index-Manager. She is a past president of ASI and a founding member of the Institute of Certified Indexers (ICI). Pilar works in English, Spanish and French in clinical medicine, health, technology, and other areas of personal interest. She has published numerous articles and other works on indexing and gives presentations and training workshops as time allows. More on Pilar at wymanindexing.com.
Pilar Wyman, chief indexer and consultant, Wyman Indexing, has been writing indexes and providing related services for over 32 years. Currently, she is the leader of the ASI Digital Publications Indexing Special Interest Group (DPI-SIG) and Regional Sales Manager, USA/Canada for Index-Manager. She is a past president of ASI and a founding member of the Institute of Certified Indexers (ICI). Pilar works in English, Spanish and French in clinical medicine, health, technology, and other areas of personal interest. She has published numerous articles and other works on indexing and gives presentations and training workshops as time allows. More on Pilar at wymanindexing.com.