Binc Board of Directors Welcomes Two New Members

Jen Reynolds and Chuck Robinson have joined the Board of Directors of the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation.

“We are thrilled to have Chuck and Jen joining our board,” said Binc Executive Director Pamela French. “Both have been advocates of the organization for a long time. We’re honored to have them bring their voice, experience, and knowledge to the foundation.”

Reynolds is the director of field sales at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She has worked in bookselling and publishing for over 21 years, as a bookseller, a buyer, the director of events and publisher relations for Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Davis-Kidd Booksellers, and later as the Midwest sales rep for PGW and the Perseus Books Group. 

She holds a bachelor of arts degree in both history and English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and a master of arts in liberal studies from Northern Kentucky University. She has served on the advisory council of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and on the boards of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) and the Friends of Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University. She lives in Lakeside Park, Kentucky, with her husband and two dachshunds. 

“I’ve long admired the good work that Binc does. With the uniquely challenging year so many had in 2017, Binc became even more important as a support system and safety net,” Reynolds said. “I saw this year, in some cases firsthand, what a difference this group is making. I’m very honored they’ve asked me to join the cause and am excited to serve.”

Jen Reynolds

Robinson has been active in several book industry organizations, including serving on the board of directors and as president of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) and serving for nine years as a board member of the American Booksellers Association, with two years as president. He was the founding vice president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression in 1990 and served until May 2006 on its board of directors. Robinson has continued to serve on American Booksellers Association committees and advisory panels and as a board member of the Independent Booksellers Consortium. He is currently a board member of LIBRIS (League of Booksellers Retail Insurance Services). 

He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Sioux Falls College in 1969 and received his master’s degree from the University of Missouri in 1973. In 1980, after teaching and consulting in education for 10 years, Chuck, with his wife, Dee, founded Village Books in Bellingham, Washington’s historic Fairhaven District, and two years later founded Paper Dreams, a card and gift store. In November 2015, a second Village Books and Paper Dreams store opened in Lynden, Washington. In January 2017, the entire business was sold to three employees. Robinson recently rode his bicycle more than 2,000 miles to raise funds and awareness for Binc and two other nonprofits. The cross-country trek, #ChucksBigRide, raised more than $13,000 in 2017 to help booksellers across the country. 

Chuck Robinson

“I’m excited to be joining the board of Binc. The organization is so important in helping bookstore employees who are in need and so effective in what it does,” Robinson said. “I’m pleased to be able to aid this work.”

The new year brought other changes to the Binc Board as well. Ken White, publisher of Query Books and a Binc Board member since 2015, is the new chair of the Binc program committee. The position was previously held by Christie Roehl, who will continue to serve on the finance committee and as the board secretary.

The 2018 Board of Directors of the Binc Foundation is as follows:

• Lori Tucker-Sullivan of Independent Booksellers Consortium, Inc., board president
• Matthew Gildea of Joseph-Beth Booksellers, board vice president
• Mary Richards of Forest Health Services, board treasurer
• Christie Roehl of Carhartt, board secretary
• Anne Kubek of ReUp Education, chairperson
• Julia Cowlishaw of Ingram Content Group, board member
• Rockelle Henderson of Rock Inked, Inc., board member
• Wanda Jewell of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), board member
• Mary Jane Karwoski of Glenwood Autism and Behavioral Health Center, board member
• Deb Leonard of Literati Bookstore, board member
• Kate McCune of HarperCollins Publishers, board member 
• Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookshop & Café, board member
• Ken White of Query Books, board member
• Chuck Robinson of Chuck Robinson Associates, board member
• Jen Reynolds of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, board member

Since its inception in 1996, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation has provided more than $6.5 million in financial assistance and scholarships to more than 7,300 families. Support for the foundation’s programs and services comes from all sectors of the book industry.