Eric Johnson joined Open Books as Executive Director in November 2018. Eric most recently served as the Senior Director of Philanthropic Partnerships with Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL), a national organization focused on closing the academic achievement gap among pre-K–8th grade students through evidence-based, out-of-school-time programs. Prior to BELL, he served as the Director of Development and Capacity at the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS), Chief Development Officer at the Golden Apple Foundation, and the Director of Development and Communication for the Inner-City Teaching Corps, now known as the Accelerate Institute.

Eric received his B.A. in Sociology at the University of Virginia, his M.S. in Learning & Organizational Change at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy, and his Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential. He lives in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, Anissa, and two daughters, Ella and Isla.

Ryan has spent the last two decades immersed in the used book world, and is very excited to be part of the Open Books team. He grew up in New Jersey and North Carolina, coming to the great Midwest to attend the University of Chicago. While there he tried to read everything that was assigned (seemingly impossible), somehow graduated, and today continues to try to read everything he is interested in (definitely impossible). When he’s not meandering through the store or opening random boxes in the warehouse, you can find him in his basement in Portage Park building furniture, searching for odd records, hanging out with his wife, son, and dog, or playing 16” softball.

Chelsea comes to Open Books with a background in positive youth development and organizing work across the non-profit field in Chicago. Chelsea holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Russian studies from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master’s Degree in Museum and Exhibition Studies with a focus on community engagement from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also the co-founder of the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, a community museum in a shipping container in a garden in North Lawndale. Chelsea lives in North Center with her 16 month old son, her husband, and several cats.

Paula Santos is an arts and culture leader and educator who has devoted the last 15 years of her career to making non-profits, museums, and other cultural organizations more equitable. She has worked at major cultural institutions in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, including Brooklyn Museum, the Whitney, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Most recently she was Senior Manager of Learning and Engagement at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago. Paula is also a founding member of the Museum Workers Relief Fund, a mutual aid fund that has raised over $120,000 for museum workers adversely affected by Covid-19.

Alison grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago, after which she attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. After graduating with a BA in History and an ultimate frisbee obsession, she made her way back to Chicago to serve as an AmeriCorps member at Bowen High School. After two years serving as a college access coach, she decided she wanted to help other people get connected to volunteer opportunities and serve with students here in Chicago. She is very excited to be part of the team here at Open Books!

John was born and raised in Grove Hill, Alabama. With southern hospitality and a pro-Black approach to life, Chicago has been an easy joy to call home for over a decade. His time in Chicago began with heavy volunteerism in various organizations and then managing volunteers and youth programs with partner organizations in Chicago Public Schools. With this background and his passion for art, he looks forward to bringing creative engagement with Open Books volunteer opportunities.Though never a varsity athlete, John also enjoys powerlifting and is a very mediocre, at best, triathlete.

Atti began as an Open Books literacy intern, serving as a Summer Buddies site leader in the summer of 2013. After gaining valuable work experience in other fields, she made her way back to our team as a Teaching Artist for both Creative Writing Workshops and ReadThenWrite during the 2015-2016 school year. Atti‘s familiarity with all of Open Books programing coupled with her extensive background as a swim coach makes her a natural leader in the classroom. She has been working on curriculum revision for our workshops, and will be the full-time coordinator for Creative Writing Workshops.

Deirdre is a Chicago native who spent over a decade teaching in Chicago Public Schools after graduating from Loyola University. Working with educational programs for years showed her the impact educators can have outside of the classroom, and she hopes to design effective programs that empower young readers and assist teachers in the massive job of teaching children to read. She earned her MA in Community and Teacher Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University, engaging in research on diversity (and lack thereof) in children’s literature. Her free time consists of crafting, trying to tackle a massive TBR pile, watching a select few shows on repeat, and taking endless pictures of her cats being cute.

Valeria was born and raised in Pilsen, she grew up volunteering and working in the Community of as a mentor and coordinator assistant. She obtained an Associate in Arts degree from Chicago Community Colleges in 2015. While initially continuing school to pursue a career in music education she was able to reconnect with her passion for books and graduated with a Bachelors degree in English Literature from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2018. Since then she continues to nurture her love of music, by sharing videos of herself singing on her Ukulele, and working on her goals which are to make a difference in her community and to finish writing her very first Latino Science Fiction novel.

Ivana Jarmon is a Black Creative woman born & raised in Chicago. She has a passion for literacy, travel and art. She recently graduated with a BA in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction. Ivana comes to Open Books with a background in the library field which she spent several years learning the ins and outs of. With her love for art she spends her free time making art through photography and working on her novel (but not really because writing is hard so she thinks about writing her novel instead of actually writing it). Ivana is the mother of one fur child cat named Meadow…but no one calls her that She prefers Mistress Kitty.

Eva grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and went to school at St. Louis University where she earned her bachelor's degree in English and journalism. While in school, she took a special interest in young adult literature and literacy, which led her to this position at Open Books! Eva has spent the past year working as a college access high school counselor in Newark, NJ through Americorps. Eva is new to Chicago and will probably be spending much of her time listening to podcasts and going on very long walks.

Chris was born in Denver, but grew up outside of Detroit. After living in Ann Arbor while completing his BS in philosophy (with a minor in literature) at Eastern Michigan University, he moved to Chicago in the fall of 2001. His life in the book business began with part-time work while in college and has continued to this day, almost uninterrupted. When not managing the Pilsen store and warehouse, he can be found running tables at a nearby pool hall or futilely trying to catch up on all of the books that he's intended to get to over the last 25 years.

Jeremy (AKA the Book Monster) has been volunteering with Open Books since 2012 and has been a staff member since 2015. He is thrilled to have a job where he can spend his days with books and forward the cause of literacy. When he is not at work he is either reading science fiction, gardening, or re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In his three years in Chicago, Steve has seen his hairline recede, the bounds of the city contract (figuratively speaking), and the sanity of the country erode. It seems only his aims, of which he was entirely absent at the outset, have stood undiminished over this time. Of course, that’s hardly the case. In our age, every week sees the arrival of more promo codes, tentpole sequels and haute hamburgers. Steve monitors these developments with great interest, as they are no doubt testaments to the fact that now more than ever, we live in the best of times.

Marlo holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a practicing writer originally from the suburbs of Chicago. She has previously worked as an academic editor, and is currently the Managing Editor of Chicago Artists Writers, a review publication focused covering smaller, overlooked exhibitions and projects in Chicago. She is always excited to talk to people about books and writing. As the Donation Coordinator, she enjoys fostering connections between Open Books and other organizations, companies, and individuals who are passionate about literacy.

Zylon graduated with a major in English and minor in linguistics from SUNY New Paltz in 2013. He spent his last two years working at his college’s library. A few weeks after graduating, he moved to Chicago, transitioning from a world where he was literally and figuratively immersed in books to a new city, where his Ikea bookshelf served as his only connection to the literary world. He missed working at the library and talking to patrons and the environment of books, so when he found out about a volunteer opportunity with Open Books he was ecstatic to get started.

Joey grew up in Pasadena, California, raised on a steady diet of Goosebumps books and sub-par Adam Sandler comedies. After graduating from Oberlin College with a BA in cinema studies, he moved to Chicago without much of a plan or any friends in the city. He quickly found a second home in Open Books and a rekindled love of reading after years of not having time to read for pleasure in college, and he's beyond thrilled to be able to share that passion with other book-lovers at the West Loop store.

Peter was born in Chicago, and but for a few satellite educational efforts has lived in and around the city his entire life. Before and for a long time after eventually graduating from Columbia College he worked in retail logistics, organizing things and getting them to the people who wanted or needed them. At some point menaced by the many, many books he’d (mostly) read and (often) loved, he began donating the overstock to Open Books, eventually doing so at the Pilsen warehouse, the glorious sight and mission of which inspired the thought, 'This is a place for me.' He has volunteered in the warehouse and store ever since, and is now honored to work-work at the West Loop location, where he will occasionally slow down enough to enjoy the wonderful books flowing through the space, and the customers who so clearly love being there.

Veronica is a visual artist, lover of secondhand clothing, and ardent morning person. She grew up in Skokie, IL and graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Film and Photography. After college she worked in the service industry in Chicago for several formative years of her life that led her to books! In between making art and walks with her pup, Concha, she reads for joy and spreads OpenBooks goodness whenever she can.

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