Windy City Publishers
2118 Plum Grove Road #349
Rolling Meadows, IL  60008
www.windycitypublishers.com
info@windycitypublishers.com
(888) 673-7126

 

Lise Marinelli, President

Lise Marinelli founded Windy City Publishers in January 2009 after realizing the publishing industry was not meeting the needs of many authors, especially those wanting a credible publisher the first time around. Being an author, she recognized that few opportunities existed for new authors to collaboratively work with a team of publishing and design experts who shared their passion.

Lise honed her business management and client-service skills as owner of a successful catering company that she eventually sold. Lise has also served in a variety of financial management roles in the manufacturing and hotel industries.

Lise received her B.S. in Accounting from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

 

Kristyn Friske,
Executive VP Business Development & Marketing

Kristyn Friske joined Windy City Publishers as a partner in May 2009 with a strong background in new business development and marketing for consumer packaged goods companies. Kristyn leads the firm’s strategic marketing and business development activities, including developing and positioning the company’s product offerings, creating customized marketing plans for clients and managing all marketing communications.

Kristyn started her marketing career at World Book Encyclopedias and feels she has come full circle returning to the publishing industry. She held a variety of management positions at Quaker Oats before founding a consulting company that specialized in new business development. Clients included venture capital groups, Heinz, and Kraft Foods.

Kristyn has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA.

 

Dawn McGarrahan Wiebe, Executive VP Editorial & Creative

Dawn McGarrahan Wiebe brings 20 years of experience in writing and editing to Windy City Publishers. As Vice President of Editorial and Creative for WCP, she shares her passion for creative excellence with authors, editors, and designers from across the globe.

After working in the corporate world for several years, she made the freelance leap and formed Lane 5 Communications where she was able to use her skills to help companies like Coca-Cola and GTE meet their communication needs. Dawn jumped at the unique chance to help reinvent the publishing model and give authors more access to having their voices heard.

Dawn’s writing and editorial skills were molded by the instructors from the Writer’s Workshop at The University of Iowa where she received a B.A. in English with a writing emphasis, and a B.A. in Mass Communications from The School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

 

Craig Arnson, General Counsel

Craig has over 25 years experience in contract law. His breadth of experience ranges from real estate investment management, to capital markets and acquisitions. In addition to his current position with Windy City Publishers, he is also a Managing Director and General Counsel for a private investment company. Craig is also a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., Economics) and the Boston University School of Law (J.D.). Craig also is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Illinois, New York, and North Carolina and a member of the American Bar Association. He lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife, children, and a socially challenged dog.

Janet Ferguson Dooley, Pre-Publishing Services Manager

Janet has over 20 years experience as a professional writer and editor. Her career has provided opportunities to write for a variety of communication venues, including traditional print publications, book publishers, marketing and advertising media, and most recently for web applications. Janet attended The University of Iowa where she received her B.A. degrees in English Literature and Mass Communications. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Rachel Ney, Project Manager

Rachel attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an undergraduate, using the time to expand her horizons, including a semester abroad in London which gave her the irreversible travel bug.  After graduating in 2007 with a double degree in Journalism (with a focus on strategic communications) and English literature, Rachel found a job in her chosen field—book publishing.  After six years of publishing experience, she had the extreme fortune to add her editorial and design skills to the talented Windy City Publishers team in 2010.  Recently, Rachel has decided to pursue her master's degree in Media Studies.  She was offered an assistantship at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she is focusing on changes in the book industry. Rachel currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Stella, her sassy yet affectionate cat.

 

Sam Arnson, President SPND Publishing, Professional Jr. Editor

Sam has had over four months experience as the president and editor with his newly formed company SPND Publishing (Sammer, Perry, Nicholas, Andrew). SPND is working on publishing their first book “Cheese Mouse.” In second grade, Sam also authored the book “Hands in the Future,” a story about hands that do funny things like disco dancing. Sam has received his first four years of education at Hunting Ridge Elementary school in Palatine, IL and plans on attending fourth grade next year. He is an excellent drummer and enjoys snowboarding and hockey.