Our Board of Directors

Craig lives west of Kalispell on ten acres his in-laws acquired in payment for a gambling debt. He writes stories, novels, and poetry, and coordinates the annual Flathead River Writers Conference. His work has been published in the Whitefish Review, the Montana and Idaho Senior News, and presented live at the White Raven Winery's WineSpiration concerts and the Flathead Story Concert series. He is Yondan (fourth-level black belt) and chief instructor at Aikido in Kalispell and, in his free time, tends an orchard of heirloom apple varieties. Craig is also a doctor of music composition (Univ. of Southern California). His accolade-filled career included conducting at the Kennedy Center and the National Museum of the American Indian. In between writing assignments, he still puts black dots on five lines now and then. https://craigthomasnaylor.com/

Susan Purvis is the best-selling author of Go Find, My Journey to Find the Lost & Myself. Often called a "maverick," Susan has paved a successful career in the outdoor industry, shuffling between author, educator, business owner, scientist, K-9 search and rescue dog handler, wilderness medicine, and avalanche specialist. Her exploits have appeared in Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, on CNN, the BBC, and Discovery Channels. Susan has spoken to over 10,000 individuals from SEALs to CEOs and corporate investors. https://susanpurvis.com/

Fran discovered science in the 1950’s, a time when continental drift was the wild-eyed theory of the day, and serious engineers claimed they could send spaceships to the moon. By the time she entered college, she, with classmates, watched the first moon landing, and continental drift had become mainstream science. Neither achievement would be possible without the power of imagination amplified by the power of the written word. Be it technical, poetry, adventure, or a tear-jerker love story, Fran’s romance with the written word is part of all she writes. Fran’s writing includes business books, science fiction, romantic & family comedy, and poetry. https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/FranTabor

Treasurer Heidi Wolf is Montana-born and reared and returned to her home state after spending her roaring twenties on Maui. She is a lover of beading, books, dachshunds (she has six!), walking labyrinths, soaking in hot springs, spontaneous road trips, the aloha spirit and, of course, writing. An avid storyteller and essayist, she has been documenting her son’s quirky quotes and entertaining her friends with them for nearly fifteen years. When she suffers from writer’s block, you can find her kayaking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. Her superpower is helping others and she thrives at her job as a high school Special Education Paraeducator. She also volunteers for the Spay Neuter Task Force and Whitefish Theatre Company. She soaks in everything happy and boasts that Authors of the Flathead is a solid ten on the happy Richter scale.

 Membership Coordinator Melissa Kelly has used her degrees in journalism to work in communication of all types, including teaching classes at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and helping non-profit organizations, such as the National Hospice Organization and Rape Counseling Center communicate their message to the public. She also worked in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill as communication director for a long-term congressman.

Along with many essays, magazine articles/interviews published over the years, she wrote two Abbey Press “CareNotes” still found in most hospital libraries/chapels today.

Besides being a writer, Melissa is a certified master gardener, passionate about all things in Nature, and works in her large home garden growing pollinators, MT natives, and vegetables.

Music has played an important part in her creative life—playing piano and singing with community choral groups throughout the years, currently with the Crown of the Continent Choir, conducted by Craig Naylor.

Melissa is happy to be able to contribute now to AotF, grateful for the organization's support and the writing friends she’s made.

At-Large member Carl Stevens is a ‘recovering’ CPA. After a twenty-year business career, he earned an MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College. Since then, he has worked extensively in organizational diagnostics, forensic consulting and analytical writing; his client base ranged from small entrepreneurial startups to Fortune 100 multinational firms. He has taught technical and business writing at community colleges in Montana and Alaska. Recently, he has completed two novels..

Jungian Psychotherapist, Mentor, Speaker, Poet, Author & Artist, At-Large member Shira Marin, PhD is an international speaker and educator on creative growth and expression. She gives talks and conducts workshops in Sweden, Greece, Israel, the San Francisco Bay area, and beyond.

“I live from the depths of my inner world rather than relying on the outside world to direct me. My work is to assist others to dig deeply into their known—and unknown needs, desires, and strengths and to forge a deep connection with them through creative expression.”