TRACK LEADERS
PubU is developed BY Christian publishers FOR Christian publishers to train, connect, and inspire—through sharing what they know best about their discipline: best-practices, interactive discussions, and action learning.
Jennifer (Jenn) Butenschoen
LEAD
Jennifer (Jenn) Butenschoen is the Director of Production & Digital Content at Harvest House Publishers. Jenn overseas a stellar production team that collaborates with multiple departments to effectively facilitate the creation of company product. She manages global manufacturing, eBook distribution and licensing, and related industry partnerships for both. As a seasoned publishing professional, Jenn has a passion for working together to create beautiful, high quality, gospel-centered product that glorifies God and points people to Jesus Christ as the answer to every human need. Jenn is an outdoor enthusiast that lives in the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband enjoy spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys serving as a leadership coach for the small groups ministry at her home church.
Robin Bermel
MARKETING
Robin Bermel has marketed books for 20 years, starting with entrepreneurship, business, and personal finance books at Dearborn Trade, and then at Tyndale House Publishers, partnering with NavPress and Focus on the Family. She moved to Penguin Random House Christian Publishing as the Backlist & Brand Director in 2025. In her role, Robin collaborates with influential Christian authors, notable brands, and internal teams across the company to bridge creative and commercial priorities that drive revenue and audience growth. Her ultimate goal is for more people to experience the life-changing love of a God who pursues us!
Dave Almack
SALES
Dave Almack is an experienced and innovative leader in the Christian publishing and retail industry. He is the current Director of Sales, Marketing and Acquisitions for P&R Publishing in Phillipsburg, NJ and was previously the National Director for CLC USA and Publisher for CLC Publications for over twenty years. His time in CLC included oversight of their US based Christian retail stores and management of a store in Philadelphia whose sales quadrupled in a six-year time frame. He is also the Director of the Academy of Christian Editors, an avid reader and a fan of the Tottenham Hotspurs Football team in the Premier League.
Katara Washington Patton
EDITORIAL
Katara Washington Patton is Executive Editor, VOICES Collection by Our Daily Bread Publishing, and the author of eight books, including her most recent best-selling book Navigating the Blues: Where to Turn When Worry, Anxiety, or Depression Steal Your Hope (Our Daily Bread VOICES 2022). A publishing veteran, Katara has worked in the editorial and acquisitions departments at Weekly Reader Corporation, Jet Magazine, Urban Ministries, Inc. (UMI), McGraw-Hill, The African American Pulpit, The Chicago Defender, Tyndale House Publishers, and Christian Century Magazine. In 2014, she was named Nonfiction Editor of the Year by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA). Katara graduated summa cum laude from Dillard University (New Orleans, LA), with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and English. She then earned a Master of Journalism in magazine publishing from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). She also received a Masters of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL), where she received the outstanding preaching award. Katara is a native of Thibodaux, Louisiana. She and her husband, Derrick, reside on the South Side of Chicago with their teen daughter.
Torrey Sharp
DESIGN & INNOVATION
Torrey Sharp is the owner and principal of Faceout Studio, a market leading firm specializing in book design. The studio designs hundreds of books each year working with the world's top media companies, mid–size publishers, university presses, and individual authors. Over the years, Faceout Studio’s work has been recognized by Communication Arts, the AIGA, the AAUP, ECPA, the IBPA, Print magazine, Eye magazine, the New York Book Show, Graphis, and the American Advertising Federation. Torrey earned his economics degree from Wheaton College, IL after spending most of his growing up years in Brazil. He has been in the publishing industry since 1996.
Linda Walz
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
Linda Walz is the Production Director at Tyndale House Publishers and has been helping produce books and Bibles for more than 35 years. She works with a dynamic group of buyers and loves being part of the process that brings the authors’ messages and the designers’ visions to life. In her free time, Linda enjoys combing for fun finds at antique markets, reading, and paper crafting. She and her husband, Bruce, are the proud parents of five adult children and are enjoying their new role as grandparents.
Brian Conley
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
Brian Conley is the Production, Design, and Digital Publishing Manager at Ave Maria Press, where he has been a key member of the team since 1997. Over nearly three decades with the company, Brian has taken on a wide range of roles reflective of the collaborative nature of a small press. He began his career as a Graphic Designer, spending 17 years creating book covers and interior layouts before transitioning to Production Manager in 2015, overseeing all printed books and marketing materials. In November 2024, Brian stepped into his current role, where he now leads the design and digital publishing efforts in addition to managing production. He supervises a team of graphic designers and a digital publishing specialist while continuing to guide the press’s print production processes. Outside of his professional work, Brian has been married to his wife for nearly 24 years, and together they have two sons, ages 18 and 20.
Andrea Garcia
EMERGING LEADERS
Andrea Garcia a senior marketing manager at Tyndale House Publishers, working primarily on fiction titles. Andrea brings years of marketing and publishing industry experience to her role. She works to find the best way to reach the right reader for every book, and she enjoys collaborating with authors to release their books into the world. Andrea enjoys a good story, which has led to a lengthy to-be-read pile, a robust streaming queue, and more library fines than she’d like to admit.
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