Lesa Dragon, President
Lesa Dragon has been putting her imagination to good (and bad!) use since high school, sometimes even writing short stories instead of doing classwork.
When taking a break from the wrting, and the day job, Lesa spends her spare minutes solving mysteries, seeking out interesting information tid-bits and torturing her family with food experiments.
In 2007 she joined RWA and GSRWA, and has been part of the Emerald City Conference committee with the Hospitality Crew, as Assistant Conference Chair, and Conference Chair. Lesa shares the responsibility for updating the GSRWA website and was honored to receive the Chapter Membership Award in 2008.
Lesa writes Paranormal Romance expects to see her first novel published in the not too distant future.
Send an email to Lesa.
Julia Hunter, Vice President
Julia enjoys the outdoors, traveling, flying and of course writing.
She has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Criminology and is a 20-year veteran federal agent who works throughout the northwest.
Julia has presented for numerous conferences, initially as a government official, then as an aspiring fiction author. She was the Emerald City Program Chair in 2008 and 2009 and continues to support various writing-related projects.
Her website is at www.julia-hunter.com.
Send an email to Julia.
Shelly Shellabarger, Secretary
Diagnosed as a dyslexic when she was three, stubborn Shelly Shellabarger became a writer just to prove everybody wrong.
She's still working on that task.
Sigh.
While publication has proved elusive, Shelly has been very successful with writing contests. She has won the PNWA Zola Award for Romance (as well as the Stella Cameron Award), several Emerald City Openers and a plethora of other RWA chapter contests. Once she won a trip to Italy by writing a poem. I am sure you can see the appeal.
When she is not entering contests, Shelly writes women's fiction (including all kinds of romance), contemporary fiction, screenplays and fantasy. If she is not writing, she is probably playing Maj Jong on her computer or watching trashy TV shows.
Shelly moved to the Seattle area in 2006 and joined GSRWA. Delighted to discover so many kindred spirits, she has dedicated herself to serving the membership, first working as conference registration chair and then as publicity chair& and now on the Board of Directors as Secretary.
Send an email to Shelly.
Judy Wiebe, Treasurer
Judy Wiebe wrote reports, speeches, presentations, newsletters and columns for magazines, but never really considered herself a "writer" until she finished her first romance novel in 2005. An RWA PRO, she writes historical romances and is not yet published. She and her husband are retired and she loves to travel, play golf, entertain and cook for her large, extended family. In fact, every Sunday, she and her husband prepare dinner for three of their four children, their spouses, her elderly father, a cousin, eight out of their nine grandchildren and any other family member or friend that happens to be in town. A Member of GSRWA since 2005, Judy was previously the membership chair.
Send an email to Judy.
Chassily Wakefield, Membership Chair
Chassily Wakefield wrote her first 200-page story when she was eight years old and has been writing ever since. Her favorite genres are romance and fantasy, so she combined the two and is now writing a romantic fantasy series that will span 1000 years. Chassily joined GSRWA in 2009 and has loved every minute of it, especially making friends with so many supportive and helpful fellow writers. She attended her first writing conference in October, the ECWC, where she met even more fabulous people, learned an outrageous amount about the craft and business of writing, and had a blast volunteering in several positions. Chassily is honored and excited to be the 2010 Membership Chair. She hopes to connect on a personal level with every new and existing member to help them get the most out of the fantastic organization they've joined - knowledge, networking, community, support, fun and friendship to last throughout the ups and downs of a professional career in writing.
Send an email to Chassily.
Aurrora Schrader, Emerald City Conference Chair
Aurrora Schrader is a fairly recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest. She moved here from Florida six years ago in search of cooler weather. She found it, but still misses the thunderstorms and hurricanes. She is currently writing her second novel, a paranormal romance, while trying to appease the other characters still waiting for their turn.
Send an email to Aurrora.
