Our Board
Jared Bhatti is a Pakistani-American who has been writing for over 20 years on technology and sustainability. He’s written for companies like Google and Waymo, and for non-profits like the Linux Foundation and Open Data Kit. Prior to becoming a technical writer, he was an EMT and a freelance writer. He’s the author of the book Docs for Developers: An Engineer’s Field Guide to Technical Writing, and a zealous attendee of Bay Area literary events.
Jack Boulware is co-founder and Executive Director of Litquake. He is author/co-author of three nonfiction books, including the Bay Area punk oral history Gimme Something Better (Penguin), which was basis for the documentary film Turn It Around. As a journalist he has covered stories in 20 countries, and was founding editor of the satirical investigative Nose magazine. He is a San Francisco Library Laureate, and has received several awards. He grew up in rural Montana, amidst cattle ranchers and excellent storytellers.
Karyn DiGiorgio, avid reader, is a nurse with a specialty in health policy and clinical research. Currently, she is the Chief Collaborations Officer for Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC), a healthcare non-profit that develops and sponsors cutting edge research in cancer, COVID and other diseases. In her spare time, she indulges guilty pleasures that usually involve food, wine, books, and design. Karyn lives in San Francisco with husband Steve, and Lovey, the cat.
Jane Ganahl co-founded Litquake with Jack Boulware 23 years ago. She has also worked as a journalist, authored one book and edited another. In her spare time she rescues homeless animals, works on a children's novel and dotes on her granddaughter.
Scott James is a veteran journalist and author. His reporting has appeared in The New York Times, and he is the recipient of three Emmy Awards for his work in television news. His most recent book Trial by Fire won the 2021 top prize for nonfiction at the New England Society Book Awards and became an episode of the CBS News program 48 Hours. He’s also the author of two bestselling novels, SoMa and The Sower.
Michelle Jeffers is the chief of Community Programs and Partnerships for the San Francisco Public Library, overseeing all public programs, classes, exhibits and special events. She also engages in partnerships with cultural, educational, civic and private institutions. A former journalist, she has served as a staff writer, bureau chief, reporter and editor for numerous magazines, newspapers and radio stations.
James Kass is an award-winning writer, producer, strategic advisor, progressive educator, cultural activist, coach, and former Executive Director. He founded Youth Speaks, a leading nonprofit presenter of spoken-word performance, education and youth development programs in the nation, as well as Brave New Voices, the international youth poetry slam festival bringing together hundreds of teenage poets from across the globe. James has received awards and fellowships from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, the Gerbode Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation, among others, and has been featured in media across the nation, including Poets & Writers, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, CNN, ABC, Source, Vibe, and National Public Radio.
Byron Spooner is the author of Rounding Up a Bison: Stories. He is retired as the Literary Director of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library where he produced literary events for many years. He founded and edited of The Readers Review, the Friends’ literary blog, where he wrote about books, music, film and bookselling. His writing has been published widely on a variety of platforms and won Honorable Mention in the 2021 Dillydoun International Fiction Prize competition for his story “The Acrobat Rides the Horse in Sequins.” He was invited to the Napa Valley Writers Conference in 2017. He served on the San Francisco Poet Laureate Nominating Committee and the One City, One Book Selection Committee of the SFPL and currently serves on the boards of Litquake, California Public Library Advocates and the Advisory Board of the Beat Museum. He lives with his wife, writer Judith Ayn Bernhard, in San Francisco.
Jody Weiner is the current Board President of the Litquake Foundation. He wrote the novel Prisoners of Truth, drawing from his experiences defending criminal cases in Chicago. He also co-authored Kinship With Animals, in which he writes about serving as attorney to Koko the signing Gorilla, and Peoplescapes, My Story From Purging To Painting, an illustrated memoir by Nancy Calef. He also co-edited Resistance: A Radical Political and Social History of the Lower East Side by Clayton Patterson. Since moving to San Francisco, Jody continues to practice law in California, concentrating on all manner of civil advice. He's been collaborating with his wife and partner for thirty-four years: American figurative painter, Nancy Calef.