Meet The Family

Christopher is currently the co-founder and CEO of Familius, a trade book publishing company founded in 2012 with a mission to help families be happy, a mission that has helped Familius be one of the top fastest growing independent publishing companies in the US for the past three years as reported by Publishers Weekly. Christopher earned a BA in English and an MBA from BYU. He has served on numerous boards including Writers@Work and the Independent Book Publishers Association. His favorite quote is attributed to Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Christopher currently lives in the central valley of California with his wife, four of his nine children, and their cat and dog.

Michele Lynne Robbins, the Mater Familius and Acquisitions Editor, has been the CEO of the Robbins Roost for twenty-two years, where she has homeschooled each of her nine children. When she is not running her domestic enterprise, she is found developing important book content, creating unique gifts and enjoying the joys of family life and motherhood. She holds a BA in Special Education from Brigham Young University.

Brooke Jorden earned a BA in English and editing from Brigham Young University. The author of If It Fits, I Sits: The Ultimate Cat Quotebook, I Dig Bathtime, and the Lit for Little Hands series, Brooke is also the art director at Familius. Brooke, her husband, their three children, and their cat live in Cedar Hills, Utah.

Gretchen graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s in English and minors in editing and French. She was an editorial intern at the Friend magazine, where she acquired and edited articles for children. She also interned at the literary agency Writers House, where she reviewed queries and submissions for the desk of Jodi Reamer. Although originally from Texas, Gretchen currently lives in Utah with her husband and two dogs. She enjoys playing video games, solving puzzles, and building LEGO sets (although one of her dogs likes eating the pieces). She loves stories that spark imagination and build empathy.

Erika graduated from BYU with a BA in communications (advertising emphasis) and a minor in English. She’s put her degree to work for over 11 years in retail marketing and promotional writing. Her three kids, two dogs, and one husband keep her busy, but when she does have free time you’ll find her reading one of the many books not on her TBR list.

Adina is a mom, a former preschool teacher, and a children’s book author. She has a passion for picture books and adores reading with her kids and students. She loves helping families find books that help them navigate the challenges and milestones of early childhood. A graduate of Ithaca College, she holds a BA in journalism, and a master’s degree in early childhood education with a certification in special education. Adina and her family currently live in CT.

Shaelyn Topolovec, often asked how to pronounce her name, goes by Shae to keep things simple. A devoted reader and writer ever since she could first crawl to the bookshelf and hold a crayon, she earned a BA in editing and publishing from BYU, worked on several online publications, and joined the Familius family. Shae is an editor and marketing associate at Familius, and currently lives in California’s Central Valley, where she can go for long “junk food” rides in the mountains, around lakes, and to the coast.

I am Christina Norris. I earned my bachelor’s degree in accounting and my master’s degree in accounting and financial Management at the University of Maryland, you could say I like numbers and balancing. I am married to my best friend, and we have two wild boys of our own to raise. For free time we enjoy dirt bike riding, camping, skiing, hiking, and going to the beach. Basically, anything outdoors is where we want to be. I have always loved to read; although, with two young boys and balancing a job I find I have less time to read longer books than I did in the past. I am one of those who cannot put a book down once I start, I MUST KNOW THE ENDING NOW! So, for now I read lots of children’s books with my kiddos and truly enjoy them. My favorite quote is, “I am not afraid of Storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” -Louisa May Alcott Little Women

I’m Maggie. I love reading, being outside, and going on great adventures.

Bick Robbins, our General Counsel, is a CPA and an attorney. He therefore has no personality and no soul. He does, however, have almost 40 years of legal experience which we greatly appreciate.

DropCap co-founder, Allison Olson, has more than 25 years of experience in publishing rights management and sales. She managed the foreign language rights sales for several large book publishers for 10 years and ran her own rights agency for another 15 before co-founding DropCap in 2018. Allison adores the Familius list and has enjoyed seeing many of the parenting and children’s books published into 6, 7, 8 even 9 languages for many titles including a Mongolian edition of Made for Me, which was a first!

Meet The Family

Christopher Robbins

Michele Robbins

Brooke Jorden

Gretchen Picklesimer Kinney

Erika Sargent

Adina Oberman

Shaelyn Topolovec

Christina Norris

Maggie Wickes

Bick Robbins

Allison Olson

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