Beyond Words

Cynthia Black

President & Editor-In-Chief

Cynthia is the President and Editor-in-Chief of Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., a pioneer in Mind, Body & Spirit books, active in developing and promoting the importance of spiritual lifestyles and global wisdom for the past 25 years. Cynthia is responsible for sourcing new book projects and the editorial and publicity aspects of the company. She is also a partner in a new venture, Beyond Distribution LLC which produces and distributes movies and other spirit-based products. She is the recipient of Advertising Age Magazine's 2007 Entertainment Marketer of the Year award as well as one of Independent Publisher's Ten Outstanding Women of Independent Publishing award in 2006.

A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Cynthia is a graduate of Mills College and The Burklyn Business School, based on cooperative business. She is the co-author of Spiritual Writing: From Inspiration to Publication, and editor of two anthologies by mature women writers, Our Turn, Our Time and Mid-Life Clarity. Her perspectives on publishing have been featured in Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, The Oregonian and The Costco Connection.

Cynthia loves to travel and has trekked to Mount Everest in Nepal, been to Japan sacred sites, traveled to Brazil to see healer John of God, sailed the Greek Isles and swam with wild dolphins in Hawaii. She has spent time with Buckminster Fuller, Masaru Emoto and the Dalai Lama and is inspired by them. She loves to discover new trends, attend spiritual retreats and spas, travel, eat organic food, water ski, read for pleasure, garden, and walk the beach.

Favorite Book: Too many Beyond Words titles to choose from—they are all my children!

• I've walked on fire and broken glass in order to stretch myself.
  
• I have built two homes as owner-contractor.

 

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Richard Cohn

Publisher

Richard Cohn founded Beyond Words Publishing 25 years ago, and serves as the Publisher, overseeing Marketing, Finance, Editorial and Special Sales. Having worked with many first-time authors, and seen projects like Hidden Messages in Water and The Secret, he has helped establish a reputation for producing inspiring, high-quality books that help improve the lives of millions of readers. He has helped Beyond Words branch out as an information and media company, venturing out into other markets through DVD, audio, and product distribution, which has provided customers with new resources in new ways.

Before being called into the field of Publishing, Richard was educated at Stanford University, where he was the debate champion and later won a Fulbright Scholarship to Brazil. He served as a chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Housing in Portland, Oregon, and studied in Washington, D.C., and Bologna, Italy, with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies.

After establishing Beyond Words with his partner Cynthia, Richard immediately seized upon an unexplored market—collectable and customized books, eventually for clients like The White House, Boy Scouts of America, and international dignitaries. He is immensely proud of the company that Beyond Words has become, and the recent co-publishing agreement with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, has given his ‘boutique’ company strong international distribution and foreign rights sales. When time for relaxation comes, Richard enjoys fine food, travel, the beach, walks in the woods, reading Steinbeck and Hemmingway, and writing poetry.

Favorite Books: The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran; Markings, by Dag Hammarskjöld; Wisdomkeepers, by Steve Wall and Harvey Arden.

• If I could be any mammal, I'd be a dolphin.
  
• I sometimes channel William Blake when writing poetry.
  

 

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Lindsay Brown

Managing Editor

With a BA in Communication/Broadcast News from WSU, the only good thing that came from Lindsay's short stint in the news industry was meeting her husband Kevin. Shortly after moving to Portland, Lindsay began her career in book publishing. With a bit of a side-track one summer at NYU's Publishing Institute, she came home to Portland to take up the job of managing editor at Collectors Press, learning the joys of cookbook editing and learning way to much about retro pin-ups. Lindsay came on board at Beyond Words just before The Secret mania hit and it have been crazy-busy ever since.

Favorite Quote: Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Favorite Books: Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell; The Seeds of Singing, by Kay McGrath (why on earth is this out of print!)

• Places I’ve Been: I’ve traveled throughout 5 of the 7 continents. Australia and Antarctica here I come!
• If I were a condiment: I would be Balsamic Vinegar
• If I were an animal: I would be (according to my husband) a badger. Beware! Could attack suddenly!

 

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Brian Danziger

Sales Manager

- Bio & Photo Coming Soon! -

 

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Courtney Dunham

Publicity Director

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After a 10-year career in journalism as a magazine editor and columnist, followed by two years as a freelance marketing specialist, Courtney Dunham joined Beyond Words in the fall of 2007. Courtney has won more than 40 state and national media awards for excellence in writing.

When not at work, Courtney can be found at her spiritual haven, the beach, playing with her two furry children, Sammy, 14, a cocker/lab and Bella, 1, a Bichon Frise or surfing on Tivo when she's in the zone. Her passions include traveling, writing, films, football, and swimming in all kinds of water.

Favorite Book: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

• I'm a football fanatic.
• I backpacked across Europe for three months at 38.
• I'm the youngest of 11 children. They call me, "Bee," and still make me sit in the back seat.

 

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Rachel Hayward

Assistant to Richard Cohn

Rachel Hayward, MDiv, travels from Newberg to assist the publisher and publicist at Beyond Words. She received her Masters in Divinity and Interfaith Studies in 2006 and was initiated into the Hungarian Basci shamanic tradition in 2005. She also founded a shamanic sound healing troupe named Shemaya. This gives her a unique understanding of the mind-body-spirit genre. Rachel enjoys reading books about the shamanic traditions and how it is converging with science today, and she is a huge Harry Potter fan. She even owns her own robe and has a wand her father made. Rachel enjoys hiking in the wilds, learning the traditional acoustic drum set and other funky instruments, and being a mom.

Favorite Books: The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter; The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

• I love standing out in thunder storms.
• If I were a car I'd be a convertible Thunderbird painted in bright yellow-orange.
• I harbor a secret love for Don Juan.

 

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Marie Hix

Assistant to Cynthia Black

A native Oregonian, Marie Hix received her BA in English from Portland State University and her MA, also from PSU, in Writing with a focus in Publishing. In her job at Beyond Words, she never gets tired of seeing someone's idea transform into a real book, and loves to do developmental editing and help an author's ideas shine. When she’s not working with authors, agents, or paperwork, Marie likes to research and sew historical clothing from a variety of eras—from Medieval gowns to Victorian corsetry. She also studies bellydance, plays computer games, and writes for pleasure.

Favorite Books: Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card; Dracula, by Bram Stoker; Persuasion, by Jane Austen.

• My perfect vacation would be camping, canoeing, and hiking in Oregon’s beautiful wilderness with my handsome hubby.
• I share the same birthday with my sister - Halloween! - even though we were born six years apart.
• My Secret Super-Hero Crush: Tony Stark / Iron Man. 
  
  

 

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Danielle Marshall

Marketing Manager

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Danielle brings 15 years of experience in Bookselling, Book Buying, and Book Marketing to Beyond Words. She is a Nashville, Tennessee native and a West Coast transplant for the last 17 years. She earned her BA in Women’s Studies from Portland State University at age 40, after earlier studying Opera, Music Business, and Shakespearean Theater at Belmont University in Nashville.

She has a nine-year-old daughter and enjoys being a soccer and ballet mom as well as an active volunteer at her elementary school. When not working, you can find Danielle with a book, a saucepan, or an iPod in her hands.

Favorite Books: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Geek Love by Katherine Dunn; Perfume by Patrick Suskind

• Other places I have lived: Maine, Colorado, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mississippi, France.
• I couldn't wait to get into a house with a backyard... and then I discovered I hate yard work!
• I have a dog for the first time in my adult life and I love her a surprising amount. (I thought I was a cat person!)

 

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Cindy Nickles

Customer Service

Cindy was born in Hillsboro, Oregon, and has stayed in the same 5-mile radius her entire life. Happily married to her high school sweetheart, and with her first child on the way, Cindy picked up a temporary job at Beyond Words that was only to last a week or two. And then The Secret hit. Suddenly it was months later and her due date was fast approaching, so Cindy sadly left Beyond Words. She soon had her little baby boy, and many months passed after that. Then in October 2007, Michele from Beyond Words called, and asked if she would like to come back, but this time as a permanent part of Beyond Words. She has been working there ever since.

Favorite Books: The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

• I am working on 3 different Associates degrees at once.
  
• I have my own web comic that I update randomly.
  
• My husband and I started dating when we were freshmen in high school.

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Karen Preston

Customer Service

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Karen grew up in the Midwest and has a grown daughter living on the east coast. She moved here 20 years ago after falling in love with Portland on vacation. She gets a real kick out of chatting with people and worked as a Customer Service Specialist at a jewelry wholesale house before coming to Beyond Words. Since she's addicted to both jewelry and books, she feels exceptionally blessed!

Favorite Book:
I liked Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a fascinating study of how we make snap decisions. Although it's filled with scientific studies the author does a smashing job of making it entertaining and an extremely good read.  

• When I moved here from Chicago I gave away over a thousand books.
• I once nabbed a thief in a record store (this really dates me) with a wire hanger.
• I've vacationed in all 50 of the United States.
• Back in the 70’s I climbed on the Parachute Jump ride at Knott's Berry Farm and got stuck 20 stories up in the air with my best friend's restless three-year-old as my only companion. Ever since then I've been afraid of heights, but amazingly still enjoy three-year-olds.

 

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Tim Schroeder

Chief Operations Officer

Tim brings twenty-plus years of experience in operations management in fields as varied as farm equipment, apparel manufacturing, and medical diagnostic devices. Tim is a Chicago native with a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois as well as an MBA from the University of Chicago. He enjoys travel and the study of languages at a ‘hobbyist’ level. Tim has traveled to Jamaica, Italy, Germany, and many other places with his wife and son; he is involved in his 16-year-old son’s musical and athletic pursuits, and is a ten-year Meals-on-Wheels volunteer driver.

Favorite Books: Pompeii, by Robert Harris; A True History of Paradise, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

• I met my wife at a group fitness class—she was the instructor, and I was the beginner.
  
• If you wear something with writing on it, I will stop you so I can read it.
  
• I have a 3,500 gallon koi pond with lots of fish, and so far I have resisted going swimming with them.
  

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Devon Smith

Graphic Designer

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Devon joined Beyond Words in July, 2008. He left a career in sports marketing to pursue an education in his other professional passion, graphic design. A graduate of the Art Institute of Portland, Devon designs our book covers and interiors, as well as handling other design projects. Devon also holds a degree in marketing from the Charles H. Lundquist School of Business at the University of Oregon.

Favorite Books: Mythology, by Edith Hamilton; The Bike Lesson, by Stan and Jan Berenstain; The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler

• I am an avid photographer. 
  
• I am a rabid University of Oregon Ducks athletics fan. 
  
• I enjoy outdoor pursuits, such as kayaking, hiking and snowshoeing.