Elva Resa’s exceptional team of publishing professionals are passionate about our mission to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Together, we collaborate with our authors, artists, customers, partners, and industry leaders to create quality resources by, for, and about military families and first-responder families.
As we celebrate our 26th anniversary, we say a special thank you to our many independent contractors and professional service providers who apply extensive experience in publication research, writing, editing, translation, illustration, design, photography, video, marketing, publicity, project management, production, website development, social media, finance, legal, and operations. We are so grateful for everyone’s contributions and expertise.
Our core team looks forward to working with you!
Karen Pavlicin is Elva Resa Publishing’s founder and publisher, directing all business operations. She also owns and operates Military Family Books, our independent bookstore and wholesale distributor. Her business leadership experience spans decades in the book, magazine, and music industries as well as community-based advocacy programs.
Karen is the primary point of contact for all state and federal buyers. She has more than 25 years of experience working with government procurement processes and regulations.
An innovative industry leader, Karen is board chair of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest US independent publishing trade association. An IBPA board member since July 2018, she has held leadership positions on the IBPA Editorial Advisory Committee and IBPA Executive Committee. During her board tenure, she actively served on a number of board task forces and planning teams, including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force and Publishing University Task Force.
A natural changemaker, Karen often combines her community advocacy and professional leadership, serving on several military-connected and publishing advisory boards and think tanks. She successfully advocated for BISAC categories that recognize military family life. She regularly consults with national nonprofits, healthcare organizations, school districts, and entertainment producers to create resources and programs that support military families. Recently, she joined with IBPA and PubWest colleagues to advise a Portland State University graduate student research project focused on Good Distribution Practices (GDP).
Karen is a former military spouse. Her Marine husband, Bob, came home safely from several deployments. During his battle with stage IV cancer and following his death, Karen and her young son learned the true meaning of “taking care of our own.” Her gratitude for the continued support of fellow Marines and other military families is just one of the many reasons she remains inspired to support the military community.
In 2019, Military Spouse magazine named her the “Godmother of the Milspouse Book Movement” for her work representing the voices and stories of military families.
Karen speaks internationally on a variety of publishing and leadership topics. She is also an award-winning author, songwriter, and collegiate hall of fame athlete.
As Elva Resa’s associate publisher, Randi Cairns manages product development, project management, and outreach.
Randi first came to Elva Resa in 2014 by way of a story, writing about her experience raising children of an Army National Guard soldier in a civilian community. She was named the 2014 New Jersey National Guard Spouse of the Year by Military Spouse magazine and Armed Forces Insurance.
Her extensive experience managing nonprofits and small businesses has made her a pro at maximizing efficiency and effectiveness, creative problem-solving, and being a good steward of resources.
One of Randi’s superpowers is tying content to strong emotional calls to action. She has advocated for the most vulnerable among us, shared the stories we don’t often hear (but should), and secured hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of funding and resources for causes that are changing the world for the better.
Randi earned a BA in Psychology from Rutgers University and an MS in Human Services with a specialty in Nonprofit Management from Capella University. A Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor awardee, Shield of Sparta Heroine of the Infantry recipient, and Harlequin More Than Words “Real Life Heroine,” her favorite title is proud mama of her four children. She hopes they always know magic and bring magic to the lives of others.
Marly Cornell has been editing Elva Resa’s award-winning books since 2011. In addition to being an exceptional developmental editor and Chicago Manual of Style expert, Marly is also an artist and ghostwriter, with a BFA from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and an MA from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Marly speaks internationally on social justice issues and writes for a variety of publications. Before running her own editorial services company, she worked in healthcare, behavioral services, and mental health law.
Terri Barnes edited many of Elva Resa’s award-winning books as special projects editor (2014-2017) and senior editor (2017-2020). Terri has also written many articles for Elva Resa’s online publications and was instrumental in creating key resources for the military community, including Seasons of Military Student and Military Family Life.
Terri is among Elva Resa’s award-winning authors. Her book Spouse Calls is based on her long-running Stars and Stripes column. Terri is a writer, editor, writing coach, and book reviewer. She serves as a board member and author events coordinator at the historic Timrod Library in Summerville, South Carolina.
As Elva Resa’s lead Spanish editor, Gabriella Aldeman translates the content of our books and marketing materials, provides DEI guidance for new products, and edits and proofreads translated materials. She also manages marketing and PR outreach for Spanish and bilingual media.
See her current Elva Resa translation projects on her author/translator page.
A Panamanian American author and translator, Gaby has translated picture books into Spanish for a variety of publishers and is the author of two forthcoming picture books, Paula’s Patches (Free Spirit Publishing) and Squawk of Spanish (Charlesbridge). She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the American Translators Association. She owns Write Between, with a mission to make educational content accessible to Spanish-speaking families by translating communications, educational resources, and children’s books.
Tamara Rittershaus is a poetry editor and a picture book author. Her favorite picture books are in rhyme. A former Montessori kindergarten teacher and PADI Divemaster, Tamara is inspired by her classroom, her love of the ocean, and her own two kids. Her books include Marie’s Big Adieu, Eel’s Book of Mermaid Jokes, Mermaids Don’t Fart, Lockdown Drill at Superhero School, and Jumpstart to Reading ABC.
Tamara is on Elva Resa’s project team for the Operation Aviation rhyming picture book series by Teri Weber.
Christy Lyon is Elva Resa’s resident grammar girl and lead proofreader.
As an Elva Resa business partner and publisher from 2005 to 2010, Christy ran all editorial operations and our children’s imprint. She left her publisher role in 2010 to focus on her young family. Now that her boys are older, her love of red pens, electronic proofreading marks, and the Chicago Manual of Style, along with her desire to correct every error within her literary power, has brought her back to Elva Resa as a last set of eyes before sending our books out into the world.
Brenda Harris has been designing for Elva Resa since 2018.
Her playful creative vision really shines in book covers like Seasons of My Military Student and 100 Days Smart, as well as websites like SeasonsofMyMilitaryStudent.com and multi-media projects like this Seasons of TransitionTM for Military-Connected Students video.
Brenda loves to bring nature, a child’s perspective, her military spouse experience, and her Latina cultural influences to her colorful designs and illustrations. She is currently illustrating the Fly With Mytai picture book series by Teri Weber.
Meagan Frank is Elva Resa’s event and retreat director, videographer, and behind-the-scenes storyteller. As senior writer (2011-2019), Meagan cofounded our magazine, Books Make a Difference, and managed our social media and communications.
Meagan owns WoodWind Park, a retreat and event venue nestled in the woods east of Wheeler, Wisconsin. Meagan and her husband, Pudge, split their time between the Park and the Colorado Renaissance Festival.
Meagan’s dad attended West Point and served in the Army.
Alexander Pavlicin manages Elva Resa’s project management system.
He has been part of Elva Resa his entire life! As a young child, he traveled with his mom to publishing conferences, book fairs, and military family events.
Alexander grew up fulfilling orders, packaging specialty items, and reviewing books. He became a contributing writer for Books Make a Difference magazine and a manuscript editor.
Raised by a village of authors and service members around the world, Alexander is currently completing his master’s degree in Technical Entrepreneurship and Management from University of Rochester, New York.
Since 2003, Ellingson & Ellingson Ltd has provided strategic and operational financial management for our Elva Resa leadership team.
As Elva Resa’s primary tax advisor, Patti Ellingson Solheim, CPA, provides financial strategy and tax guidance, reviews tax returns, and advises on real estate and financial business management decisions.
Bonnie Siverson, CPA, provides critical bookkeeping, financial reporting, and tax return preparation.
Debbie Orenstein writes and reviews author, artist, contractor, and licensing agreements for Elva Resa, and provides guidance on copyright, subsidiary rights, and other intellectual property matters.
She has been a literary property lawyer for close to 40 years and Elva Resa’s literary counsel since 2004. She represents authors, agents, and publishers all over the world. Debbie says, “I can honestly say Elva Resa is one of my favorite clients.”
Allison Strickland Ricketts, partner at Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, has been Elva Resa’s trademark attorney since 2009. Among her many accolades, Allison was named three times to Managing Intellectual Property’s list of the Top 250 Women in IP worldwide. World Trademark Review calls her “one of the foremost minds in the country on USPTO practice.”
Allison grew up in a military family. Her dad was an Air Force F-4 pilot and “River Rat” who served in Laos in 1967-68.
Eric Roller has been directing Elva Resa’s warehouse operations since 2005. Eric is VP of Operations at Superior Third Party Logistics (S3PL), where he has worked for more than 20 years. His mother was a bookstore manager for more than 30 years.
Eric and his team manage our case and bulk order fulfillment, including pallet and truck shipments from S3PL’s Minneapolis facility.
Nelson Mejia manages order fulfillment, press run pick-ups, and truck deliveries, while Scott “Cal” Calverley, Ingrid Melgar, and Sarah Petrey support inventory transfers to our St Paul editorial office and Military Family Books bookstore.
We greatly appreciate their extensive knowledge of BOLs, LTLs, forklifts, pallet wrappers, and more!
Claire Chamberlin has been building websites and supporting online publication platforms for Elva Resa since 2013. She knows cool magic, like how to build the accordion you just opened to read this!
Among other things, Claire is the benevolent dictator of Planet Claire Creative.
From our company’s inception, the Elva Resa and Military Family Books teams have participated in industry associations and cultivated relationships with a variety of advisors, mentors, and industry colleagues to learn and share best practices. We are extremely appreciative of all of our informal advisory colleagues, especially those we discovered through the following organizations:
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Independent Publishers Caucus (IPC)
PubWest
Minnesota Book Publishers Roundtable (MBPR)
Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MIPA)
Book Manufacturing Institute (BMI)
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
American Booksellers Association (ABA)
Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA)
Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association
Association of Defense Communities (ADC)
Minnesota Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
EBITDA Partners
SCORE Twin Cities
Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
Office of Women’s Business Ownership (SBA)