Team

Todd has more than 30 years of experience in the academic publishing industry, working for companies such as SAGE, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall/Pearson, Cengage/Wadsworth, and W.W. Norton. Having worked in acquisitions, management, marketing, sales, and production, he has a thorough understanding of the full breadth of the academic publishing business. He is a member of the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Textbook and Academic Authors Association, and numerous regional communication associations. Todd holds degrees in English and history from The College of William & Mary.

Seidy has worked for Cognella since 2002, serving as a senior acquisitions editor for several years before transitioning into her current role as a publisher of foreign language for Cognella. Seidy holds a B.S. in political science and a minor in French literature from the University of California, San Diego. After graduation, Seidy worked at San Diego Dialogue, a think-tank focused on issues affecting the border region. Her passion for inclusive communities and sound public policy led her to work at the Institute of the Americas. She now feels fortunate to combine her love for academic publishing and her drive to bring awareness to issues affecting the Latinx community and Latin American studies in her role with Cognella.

As Senior Vice President, Editorial, Kassie oversees the Cognella Academic Publishing imprint and manages Cognella’s specialist acquisitions and field acquisitions editors. She also leverages her personal knowledge within the fields of social work and human services to sign engaging and effective texts in the discipline. Kassie brings a wealth of expertise to Cognella with over 20 years of experience in the publishing and marketing industries. Prior to joining the team, she served as an associate director, publisher, and acquisitions editor for SAGE Publications and received Editor of the Year awards in 2011 – 2014. She is a recipient of The Counselors for Social Justice ‘Ohana Award from the American Counseling Association. Kassie holds a B.A. in journalism from California State University, Northridge, and an M.B.A. from California Lutheran University.

As the publisher for criminology and criminal justice at Cognella, Carolyn is charged with signing and promoting texts that meet the needs of today’s faculty and students in this dynamic marketplace. With over 20 years of experience in the discipline, Carolyn has worked with many of the field’s foremost authors and subject matter experts to produce highly successful textbooks and ancillaries. In addition to being an award-winning editor, during her career in publishing Carolyn has also worked in marketing, sales, and manuscript development. Carolyn graduated Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University with a degree in English.

As the executive publisher for the nursing and health sciences portfolio at Cognella, Amanda works diligently to understand the biggest challenges facing faculty and students in today’s higher education environment across the health disciplines. She then works with new and seasoned authors to develop meaningful solutions to ease those challenges. Amanda has 15 years of experience in healthcare publishing spanning sales, acquisitions, product development, and product management roles. Prior to joining Cognella, Amanda worked at Goodheart-Willcox, where she was responsible for building a healthcare portfolio, and at Jones & Bartlett Learning, where she led the nursing and medicine portfolios to significant growth before coming to serve as JBL’s VP of Product Management. Amanda holds an M.P.A., a B.A. in political science, and is certified in product management (PMC-VI).

As a specialist acquisitions editor with Cognella, Chloe’s mission is to partner with authors to solve problems for today’s educators and professionals by publishing unique and useful content in the rehabilitation sciences. She specializes in developmental editing and supporting first-time authors. Chloe has 15 years of experience managing complex scholarly, medical, and educational content for textbooks, journals, and ancillary formats such as podcasts. She previously held positions with Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, Jones & Bartlett Learning, and SAGE Publications. Chloe holds a master’s degree in publishing from the University of Sydney.

Korey brings a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in nutrition to his role as Specialist Acquisitions Editor – Nutrition with Cognella. His career began in academia, where he spent six years teaching nutrition, strength and conditioning, and health courses. During this period, he also served as the head strength coach for six athletic teams. In 2021, Korey transitioned into the academic publishing industry, first serving as an acquisitions editor with Human Kinetics and then joining the Cognella team. In his role, he is dedicated to helping authors create applied and relevant resources for both practitioners and students.

Christina brings experience in teaching, content marketing, and academic publishing to her role as an associate acquisitions editor with Cognella. She is responsible for signing titles in Colorado, Southern Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, and Utah. Christina holds a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in performing arts from California State University, Channel Islands. She also holds a master’s degree in American studies from California State University, Fullerton. She is passionate about signing timely, innovative titles across many disciplines.

Matt is an acquisitions editor with a diverse publishing industry background. After years connecting with unique authors to create nonfiction trade books, Matt transitioned into academic publishing. He enjoys working closely with authors to build strong relationships and help them realize their unique personal visions. Matt signs and manages projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Northern Florida, Alaska, and Hawaii. He holds a B.A. in English and Film and Media Studies from Amherst College.

Peaches began her career in publishing as an intern at Cognella in 2017. She later became an independent contractor for Cognella, performing a variety of assignments, including conducting peer reviews, writing up review analyses, conducting image research, and performing special assignments. In 2020, Peaches joined the academic publishing team as an associate acquisitions editor. She is responsible for managing projects in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, DC, North Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Peaches holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric is a Cognella generalist acquisitions editor for Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in anthropology with a specialization in Latin American and Caribbean studies. Prior to joining Cognella, he worked for Seven Stories Press, Publishers Weekly, and Rowman and Littlefield. He enjoys working with professors across a broad range of disciplines and publishes titles that educate and inspire students, scholars, and others.

Mieka joined Cognella in 2008 as an acquisitions editor on the Cognella Custom team, partnering with professors, departments, and programs to create customized course materials. In her current role, Mieka assists in hiring, training, and supervising members of the field acquisitions editors team. She also works with authors and editors in California, Minnesota, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia to publish engaging readers and thought-provoking original manuscripts. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Davis.

With more than 36 years of experience in the academic publishing industry, John brings an abundance of knowledge and expertise to his role as managing acquisitions editor with Cognella. Over the course of his career, he has served in a number of capacities, including sales representative, sales manager, bookstore liaison, and technology specialist with Pearson, Key College, and Content on Demand. Since 2010, John has served as a senior acquisitions specialist and executive editor with Cognella and, in doing so, has discovered a passion for the editorial side of higher education publishing. John oversees the field acquisitions editors team and signs new projects in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Angela is a senior field acquisitions editor who manages Cognella projects in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. She began her career in higher education publishing in 1998 with Macmillan, where she worked on technology-related trade books. Over the course of her career, Angela has honed her skills across the industry, gaining experience in developmental editing, marketing, cover design, copyediting, and in-depth editing. She holds a B.S. in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Craig Lincoln brings many years of experience in academic publishing across a variety of disciplines, including journals under the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Immunology, and The Transplantation Society, to his role with Cognella. He has worked as an editorial assistant, a managing editor, and a client manager. He holds a B.A and an M.F.A from North Carolina State University.

In her role as project editor with Cognella, Kaela Martin manages the editorial phases of revision projects. She brings more than four years of experience in academic publishing to her role, including previous positions as an intern at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and an editorial assistant at Plural Publishing. Kaela taught English abroad in France and holds a B.A. in English and French literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Gem Rabanera brings nine years of experience in academic publishing to her role as project editor with Cognella. Her previous roles include editorial and production work for journals and PreK-12 educator professional development at SAGE Publications, as well as project editor work on medical books for Plural Publishing. Gem holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Amy is a leader in the project editorial team, managing a team of editorial associates and various processes. She also serves as a project editor and enjoys working closely with authors and teammates to bring books to life. Prior to Cognella, Amy worked in editorial, manuscript editing, and production capacities at other publishers, working on a diverse array of subjects from poetry to nonfiction. She holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in publishing studies from Illinois State University, as well as a certificate in Essentials of Project Management from the University of Chicago. When not thinking about editing, she enjoys working with rescue dogs to increase their adoptability.

With their four years of publishing industry experience, Skyler Van Valkenburgh is thrilled to be a project editor with Cognella. She has held previous editorial and project editorial roles with John Wiley and Sons before coming to Cognella in 2023. Skyler holds a B.A. in communications from Marist College and an M.S. in publishing from Pace University.

As the senior vice president of editorial, Kassie oversees the Cognella Academic Publishing imprint and manages Cognella’s specialist acquisitions editors. Kassie also leverages her personal knowledge within the fields of social work and human services to sign engaging and effective texts in the discipline. Kassie brings a wealth of expertise to Cognella with over 20 years of experience in the publishing and marketing industries. Prior to joining the team, she served as an associate director, publisher, and acquisitions editor for SAGE Publications and received Editor of the Year awards in 2011 – 2014. She is a recipient of The Counselors for Social Justice ‘Ohana Award from the American Counseling Association. Kassie holds a B.A. in journalism from California State University, Northridge, and an M.B.A. from California Lutheran University.

In her role, Alia oversees the project editorial, production, and creative teams in the development and delivery of academic textbooks and educational materials. Alia’s journey at Cognella began as a production editor, where her attention to detail and commitment to quality led to her promotion to production manager. In her current role, she continues to leverage her extensive knowledge to ensure the creation of engaging and effective educational content, and she is spearheading the company’s transition to a digital-first publishing model. Alia holds a B.A. in literature from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.F.A. in poetry from Eastern Washington University. When she’s not working, Alia can be found reading any and all things, writing poetry, and spending time with her husband and their pair of tuxedo cats.

As the executive publisher for the nursing and health sciences portfolio at Cognella, Amanda works diligently to understand the biggest challenges facing faculty and students in today’s higher education environment across the health disciplines. She then works with new and seasoned authors to develop meaningful solutions to ease those challenges. Amanda has 15 years of experience in healthcare publishing spanning sales, acquisitions, product development, and product management roles. Prior to joining Cognella, Amanda worked at Goodheart-Willcox, where she was responsible for building a healthcare portfolio, and at Jones & Bartlett Learning, where she led the nursing and medicine portfolios to significant growth before coming to serve as JBL’s VP of Product Management. Amanda holds an M.P.A., a B.A. in political science, and is certified in product management (PMC-VI).

Amy is a leader in the project editorial team, managing a team of editorial associates and various processes. She also serves as a project editor and enjoys working closely with authors and teammates to bring books to life. Prior to Cognella, Amy worked in editorial, manuscript editing, and production capacities at other publishers, working on a diverse array of subjects from poetry to nonfiction. She holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in publishing studies from Illinois State University, as well as a certificate in Essentials of Project Management from the University of Chicago. When not thinking about editing, she enjoys working with rescue dogs to increase their adoptability.

With more than 36 years of experience in the academic publishing industry, John brings an abundance of knowledge and expertise to his role as managing acquisitions editor with Cognella. Over the course of his career, he has served in a number of capacities, including sales representative, sales manager, bookstore liaison, and technology specialist with Pearson, Key College, and Content on Demand. Since 2010, John has served as a senior acquisitions specialist and executive editor with Cognella and, in doing so, has discovered a passion for the editorial side of higher education publishing. John oversees the field acquisitions editors team and signs new projects in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts.

Carrie identifies, signs, and develops revisions and new editions of Cognella titles, while also overseeing a team dedicated to providing the highest level of care to Cognella authors. Previously, she worked at SAGE Publishing in various editorial roles. Carrie holds a B.A. in English from California Lutheran University and a Certificate of Professional Editing from University of California, Berkeley. When not working, Carrie is usually weightlifting, skateboarding, making dichroic glass art, or having extensive discussions with her cats about their spelunking adventures in her cabinets.