Vice President of Journal Publishing and Partnerships, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, and what did you study? Where are you currently based?
I am originally from Kansas City, MO. Since then, I attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA, studying Philosophy and English, then lived in Washington, DC, New York, and Southern California, and now I am back in New York, working from the home offices of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, in New Rochelle, NY.
Describe your current role and organization. What are your main responsibilities? What type of organization do you work for?
I am currently the VP of Journal Publishing and Partnerships. In this role, I oversee the 100+ journals from a strategic, financial, and editorial performance standpoint. I have an amazing team that manages the journals, editors, author relationships, key society, foundation, and other partners.
I also oversee all society proposals and the onboarding of new society partnerships.
Lastly, I liaise with the sales departments to ensure our journals provide consistently top-notch content, reach, and audience.
Walk us through a typical day in your role. What challenges do you face? What opportunities do you encounter?
Probably too much email! I do my best to bunch my emails into limited periods so that I can focus on meeting with various team members, connecting with editors and societies as needed, as well as doing a lot of planning, goal setting, and problem solving. I actually come into the office every day now that I am living in the area, and I am enjoying the old-school approach of meeting face-to-face with colleagues.
Share your journey in scholarly publishing. What was your first role in this field, and how did you land it? What path led you to your current position? What unexpected challenges have you faced?
My first job in scholarly publishing was with the American Psychological Association, where I was an ad sales rep for their journals. This then led to an Ad Sales Manager at Springer-Verlag, which led to a Commercial Sales Director role at SAGE, before moving to editorial/journal management. So, I basically entered this industry from the sales side before moving to editorial/journal management.
I would say that this industry has faced several existential threats (i.e., shift away from print, Open Access threat of subscriptions, piracy, and challenges with peer review), and these can be scary. However, the industry has persevered, pivoted, and continues to provide a critical avenue for scientific advancement while also providing many of us with wonderful careers. I am endlessly thankful to all of the academics, researchers, and practitioners who provide and review the millions of articles each and every year.
Can you share a memorable project, achievement, or pivotal moment in your career development? Was there a defining moment or influential person who shaped your career?
A pivotal moment for me was when I moved into the Director of STM journals at SAGE in 2013. This was my first role in editorial management and represented a departure from the sales side of the business. I now feel I have a unique perspective on the business that provides me a holistic view as I keep one foot in sales and one in editorial.
What do you wish you knew more about in your field?
I would like to learn more about some of the specific disciplines we publish. Publishing over 100 journals makes it difficult to become an expert in all the related disciplines (and even harder for those who publish over 1,000 journals). For example, we launched a new journal called AI In Precision Oncology in 2024, and the promise that AI has to save thousands and thousands of lives through early, accurate, and rapid cancer screening is awe-inspiring. And there are so many examples of ground-breaking research with which we are so lucky to be associated.
What advice would you give to aspiring professionals in scholarly communications?
I would say not to let uncertainty and change in the scholarly publishing landscape deter you from any dreams of this career. There will always be a need to advance science and publish peer-reviewed content, and your career could help shape and improve how we do that.
Career Stage: Established (15+ years)
Industry Area: Editorial, Publishing, Sales/Marketing
