Kristi Leonard brings a wealth of experience to her role as President of the Board of Directors. A seasoned leader, she has founded and led three nonprofits, managing their boards with dedication and skill. Her lifelong commitment to volunteerism is evident in her journey from high school Key Club president to organizing 250-person teams for Team in Training and overseeing the recruitment and training of therapy animal teams through her nonprofit, Therapy Animal Coalition.

Kristi is also a passionate writer, currently working on her second unpublished novel, and engages in several literary-related ventures. She runs a women-only writing retreat business—Writers in the Wild, narrates nonfiction audiobooks with ACX, and co-hosts the podcast Author Express. Residing in Florida with her husband, Kristi draws inspiration from her weekly "writer-hiker" walks and finds joy in the accomplishments of her young adult children. 

Tara Baisden has navigated a diverse career—from the stock market and insurance to retail—but found her true calling in creative pursuits after becoming a mother. With over two decades managing a home-based business and contributing to a publishing house, Tara has authored nine nonfiction books and 14 magazine articles. Her renewed passion for writing, sparked during the pandemic, led her to the Women's Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). Now the VP of Programs, she's instrumental in enhancing community spirit and inclusivity, ensuring that WFWA remains a nurturing hub for writers at all stages. Tara also collaborates as a ghostwriter in the creative industry, currently focusing on a line of nonfiction art books under a pen name and writing two women’s fiction novels with mystery elements. She lives in a log cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, enjoying life with her fur babies.

Catherine Matthews serves WFWA as the VP of Technology on the 2024 Board of Directors. In this role, she oversees the implementation of technology to support the organization and its members. Her team of volunteers serves in a variety of roles supporting all departments and members. 

Catherine has held a number of positions in education including teacher, high school principal, and Director of Assessment and Research. Over the course of more than three decades in school district leadership, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Western Washington University, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Washington State University. She has extensive experience in the implementation of technology to support large organizations, data analytics, and project management.  

Her debut novel Releasing the Reins was published in June of 2024. She lives in Washington State with her husband and their two Boxers, Buttercup and Delta. Delta often attends the WFWA Writing Dates with Catherine. Buttercup judges them both harshly for that.

Marie W. Watts serves on the 2024 WFWA Board as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion.

Her life’s work has been to assure an equal playing field for all through her work as an employment discrimination investigator, human resource manager and director, mediator, and diversity trainer to thousands of individuals.

Her publications to date consist of three works of nonfiction (including her internationally selling, coauthored textbook Human Relations, 4th ed.) as well as five novels and a wealth of blogs and magazine and newspaper articles.

Her passion is maintenance, preservation, and promotion of a historic house in La Grange, with a rich African American past. She lives on a ranch in Central Texas with her husband.

Leah DeCesare serves WFWA as the VP of Events on the 2024 Board of Directors. Her event experience began at Lord & Taylor in 1994. Since then, she’s planned events from weddings, fashion shows, and galas to conferences, celebrity appearances, and sporting tournaments. She currently works as the Director of Events at the REALTOR Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Leah is a TEDx speaker and the award-winning author of Forks, Knives, and Spoons and the Naked Parenting series. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times and HuffPost, among others. Leah has taught writing at several universities and Boston’s Grub Street. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in The Newport MFA, cofounded the nonprofit Doulas of Rhode Island, and led fundraising efforts to build a medical center in Uganda. 

Before retiring to a semirural area of Southeastern Pennsylvania in 2023, Wendy Rossi had a 40-year career in project management, beginning with the production of recorded media (records, cassettes, LPs) and moving through multimedia software, technology consulting, and economic development at a New York law firm. She previously served on the board of Commercial Real Estate Women of New York (CREWNY) as the Career Advancement Committee chair. During her tenure on that Board, Wendy developed and implemented a scholarship program and relaunched two major programs: CREW Careers, designed to introduce young women from underserved communities to career opportunities in Commercial Real Estate, and UCrew, designed to educate college students on career paths within Commercial Real Estate. She has been a member of WFWA since 2016 and is working on a dual-timeline historical women’s fiction manuscript with themes of recovery from the effects of loss and PTSD. She has been VP of Membership on the WFWA Board since January 2020.

Janet Rundquist serves WFWA as Secretary on the 2024 Board of Directors. She also serves on the Diversity & Inclusion committee and has volunteered on the Scholarship committee, run the STAR Award contest, and performed various other roles since she joined WFWA at its inception. She is and has been a member of various professional organizations such as the Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), International Society for Technology Education (ISTE), and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She has worked in K-12 education for over twenty-five years. 

Janet has published two novels under the pen name J. Marie Rundquist and resides in Minnesota with her family of humans and cats. 

Kori Kobzina serves WFWA as VP of Communications on the 2024 Board of Directors.

She began her professional career as a book editor with a former Reuters imprint following completion of an MA in English Literature from the University of Toronto. Kori soon pivoted to a career in media marketing and sales and spent over three decades in senior level management with many of Canada's leading media companies including Rogers Media and The Globe and Mail, where she led diverse client-facing teams and specialized in marketing communication partnerships, new product launches, and brand development. She served on the board of directors for the American Marketing Association's Toronto Chapter for seven years as Marketing VP and also as President. Currently, she operates a media consultancy as well as a vintage design and decor business.

Kori writes as-yet-unpublished upmarket contemporary women's fiction. She divides her time between St. Marys, Ontario and a circa 1840 former post office on the shores of Lake Erie with her husband, daughter, and two spoiled Somali cats. 

Stephanie Claypool serves WFWA as VP of Finance/Treasurer on the 2024 Board of Directors. She is responsible for managing all funds for the organization and assisting and advising others.

A native New Yorker, Stephanie graduated from the University at Albany with a BS in Accounting. After many years as a CPA working for a large accounting firm in New York, she moved to London and began working in the corporate world. Her career led her to San Diego where she spent many years and eventually ended her accounting career.

Stephanie now lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and a menagerie of pets. She devotes her time to writing and other pursuits. Her debut novel is expected in the fall of 2024.

Christine Orchanian Adler serves as the Past President of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) on the 2024 Board of Directors. In addition to advising the board, she volunteers on the Inside WFWA Newsletter editorial team and in the Mentorship Program. Previously she served as President of WFWA, as well as VP of Programs.

After nearly a decade in IT, Christine earned a master’s degree in Creative Writing. She’s a former editor of the literary journal Inkwell and the regional NY parenting magazines Westchester Parent and Rockland Parent. Her articles, essays, poems, and book reviews have appeared in various print and online publications throughout the US and Canada. Her poetry chapbook Undressing the Heart was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021.

She writes poetry and historical women’s fiction and lives in New York with her husband and son as well as a rescue dog who’s too smart for his own good.

Denny S. Bryce serves as the Guiding Scribe of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) on the 2024 Board of Directors. She is the bestselling, award-winning author of five novels: THE OTHER PRINCESS: A Novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter,  IN THE FACE OF THE SUN, CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS (co-written with Eliza Knight), WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES and THE TRIAL OF MRS. RHINELANDER (coming July 23, 2024). She is also an NPR book critic, an adjunct professor at Drexel University, and a freelance writer who has written for Harper’s Bazaar and USA Today. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers.