Cecilia is a Principal and Certified Professional Services Marketer at Thomas & Hutton. With over 23 years of experience, she oversees marketing, communications, and community relations for Thomas & Hutton’s 10 regions in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Cecilia is passionate about service to the community and serves on various professional and non-profit boards and committees, including Savannah Sports Council, TEDxSavannah, Society of Marketing Professional Services, Leadership Southeast Georgia, United Way of the Coastal Empire, and the Georgia Economic Developers Association. Named to the list of Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40 and Engineering Georgia’s List of 100 Influential Women in Georgia, Cecilia is an alumnus of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Southeast Georgia, and Leadership Savannah. She is an avid runner and founder of Read, Run & Rant, an active running book club as featured in Shape and Savannah Magazines.

Ivy joined the SBF Board in 2017 and has served as a member of the Executive Committee. She has been Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Citi Trends, Inc. since March 2012. Ms. Council served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Citi Trends since January 8, 2007. From February 2006 to November 2006, she served as Vice President of Human Resources for Baja Fresh Restaurants, a division of Wendy’s, Inc. From September 2003 to January 2006, Ms. Council served as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Pasta Pomodoro Restaurants.

Rachel is the former Chairperson and past-President of the SBF Board of Directors and has been a member of the Board since 2016. Fields is a partner at the HunterMaclean law firm where she focuses her practice on intellectual property law and complex commercial litigation.  Like many attorneys, she was inspired in her youth by Harper Lee’s masterful portrayal of Atticus Finch in the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  Fields volunteers her time to SBF because she believes in the power of books to help people challenge their beliefs, learn something new, and, as Atticus Finch said, walk around in someone else’s skin so that you can understand their point of view.

Matt is the General Manager at Thompson Savannah, located in the new Eastern Wharf neighborhood. He lives in Ardsley Park with his wife Sarah and their sons Henry and Jack, Matt’s daughter is a school teacher in Rochester, NY. He is originally from the NYC area, and his career has brought him up and down the Eastern seaboard, as far north as Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and as far south as Miami, Florida. Matt grew up in a family of journalist and editors  has always had an appreciation for the written word. Matt studied literature at the University of Washington. Some of his favorite authors are T.C. Boyle, Pynchon, Gaddis, Wolfe, Garcia-Marquez, Greene, Hesse and Eco.

Robert is a Professor of Writing at SCAD, he was previously with the University of Evansville, IN and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Rob is the author of several books of poetry including The Moon from Every Window which was nominated for the 2013 Poets’ Prize. He is a founding Publisher of Measure Press. His fantasy novel, Engines of Night, is forthcoming from Hydra Publications. Rob received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas, and in 2005, was awarded the University of Evansville’s Outstanding Professor Award.

Betsy is a current SBF Development Committee member and resident of The Ford Field and River Club. Betsy and her husband became “snowbirds” traveling between Chagrin Falls, OH to Savannah and Richmond Hill back in 1999. In 2019 they became full-time Georgia residents. For 30 years Betsy was an active member of a book club in Chagrin Falls, and for the last 10 years she has chaired the Ford Book Club.

Jaqueline is a real estate agent in the downtown Savannah area who loves Savannah as much as she loves her clients. After visiting Savannah for the first time in the spring of 2001, she realized that Savannah was home to her future. Jaqueline received a B.S. in Interior Design from Western Michigan University.

Kristin is a lifelong bibliophile who has become a devoted audiobook listener. Whilst driving, cleaning, or doing almost anything, novels are her soundtrack. She earned her undergraduate degree in English Literature from The University of Michigan and later earned an MD from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She completed her residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a practicing, board-certified, emergency medicine physician in Savannah, Georgia. She is the founder of Women Physician Writers which boasts over 2,500 members. Some of Kristin’s essays can be found online and she is beginning work on her second novel. She lives in Vernonburg with her husband and their two children.

Mandy is the President and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Lowcountry in Bluffton. She is the former CFO of United Way of the Coastal Empire. Mandy is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. She is skilled in nonprofit organizations, budgeting, event planning, customer service, and strategic planning. Mandy received a B.S. in Business Administration from Alice Lloyd College.

Caroline “Caro” is a retired realtor who lived in Jacksonville for most of her adult life. She is originally from Savannah and is a graduate of Savannah Country Day School and Hollins University. Caro resides in downtown Savannah and is well-connected among the downtown residents. Caro is a fan of SBF and E. Shaver.

Jack, retired CEO of Simon & Schuster, joined the Board of the Savannah Book Festival in 2009. He has remained involved for over 13 years, both as a Board member, president and currently as Chairman Emeritus. Jack served as head of the Author Selection Committee until 2020. His favorite book is The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

Bradd and his wife Kathi moved to Savannah in 2013 after living in Columbus, Ohio for 30 years where Bradd was a partner in a large Columbus-based law firm. While in Columbus, Bradd served on the Board of BalletMet, Columbus’s professional ballet company, and was a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He also taught Labor and Employment Law at Capital University Law School. Bradd has always loved reading and was a member of the History Book Club for many years. Bradd served three years on The Landings Club Golf and Green Committee, The Landings Association’s Appeals Committee, and on the Board of The Landings Men’s Golf Association, becoming its President.
Bradd is a graduate of Cornell University, The National Law Center, George Washington University, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Matt is an Audit Supervisor at Hancock Askew’s Savannah office. Prior to his career in accounting, Matt served six years in the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the “Night Stalkers,” as a Helicopter Crewmember Supervisor. Matt received a B.B.A Summa Cum Laude in Accounting from Georgia Southern University.

After a career in Alexandria, VA working primarily with young children as a speech-language pathologist and early childhood special educator, it was only natural for Carri so seek opportunities to volunteer for child-related organizations when she and her husband Gerry moved to Savannah in 2014. She became a board member, Vice-President and then President of The One Hundred Children’s Foundation where she helped the organization become a 501(c)3, sought benefactors and reviewed and wrote grants. As an avid reader (she’s on her stationary bike reading every morning,) she looks forward to working with the Savannah Book Festival to reach new heights and continue the great tradition of providing the most interesting, entertaining and friendliest book festival in the country.

Partner at Energage and EBS Brain, is a former journalist, with a history of working in the research industry. He is at his best when connecting the dots between behaviors and outcomes. He is pursuing advanced degrees in cognitive neuroscience. Dan received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Delaware.

Dr. Robert Zerbe is an enthusiastic supporter of the Savannah Book Festival and has served on its Board since 2018 and as its Treasurer since 2020. He enjoys reading most anything, but has a particular interest in science, medicine, history and philosophy.  Dr. Zerbe is a retired physician who retired to Richmond Hill after a career as a pharmaceutical Research and Development executive. He and his wife Linda spend the winters in Georgia and the summers in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.