About Us

Lorie De Worken – Book Designer

I love books. I love words. Once upon a time I thought my love affair with books was just about reading them. Then the evolution of books began changing everything in the publishing world – and in mine, too.

My career started in advertising and media, where I spent nearly 10 years, then evolved into publishing where I’ve been since 2009. In providing publishing services, I’ve had the privilege of working on hundreds of books and eBooks and assisting dozens of authors and small publishers through the publishing process. I’ve followed the trends in self-publishing and the developments in eBooks – and enjoyed every minute of it.

​​​ I love helping people create books, love helping people share their ideas, stories, and lives in print. Self-publishing can be a confusing landscape.

Contact me at lorie@mindthemargins.com today for more information about how Mind the Margins can help you!

Charlene Mosley – Illustrator

I am a professional illustrator and painter. I work mostly in traditional drawing and painting illustrations, however, can do excellent digital work on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

One of my most exciting accomplishments was working on the first- ever fully painted, 80- minute feature film, called Loving Vincent, in Poland. I worked on the film with a team of international painter- animators to complete the last frames of the 64000+ frames of the film. It premiered in the United States in October 2017 and is now available on Netflix, and other platforms.

I illustrate children’s books of all kinds of styles in gouache, watercolor, pen and ink, pencil and mixed media. Some of the most recently published and award-winning books I have illustrated, are called “In the Nick of Time”, “This is the Earth”, “Like Rain Water” written by D. Cummings, “Little Tuckie”, written by A. Tucker and “Dear Danger”, a novel written by T. Lowe.

Other titles I have illustrated are, “Rudolph the Longhaired Dachshund”, “Mathimals”, and various others. They are available in Print, on Makeawaymedia, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Google.

In the public realm, I design and paint murals indoors as well as outdoors, stretching up to 24 feet long on buildings. These experiences make me an excellent team worker and independent artist to see projects through with hard work, reliability and innovation. Feel free to see more of my personal work here: charlenemosley.com and watch me work on Facebook.

Adrianne Velasco – Editor

As a children’s book author, I focus on voice-laden, character-driven stories that highlight the humor and wonder in the ordinary, everyday moments of life. Following the humor + heart formula, I delight in creating characters that are funny, brave, ridiculous, and lovable.

My goal as a ghostwriter is to create stories that inspire as well as inform. I relish the challenge of presenting factual information in fun, fresh, and accessible writing that is backed up by extensive research and grade leveling.

I have a Master’s in English and over ten years of experience in publishing. I have worked as a full-time fiction book editor, a freelance proofreader (nonfiction/fiction), and a children’s ghostwriter (nonfiction/fiction). Currently a Bay area resident, I’ve lived in California, Arizona, Texas, and southern France–where I taught English in elementary schools.

Maddie Gallo

I am an educator, through and through. I have known I wanted to teach since I was very young.

I attended Milwaukee High School of the Arts, where I was fortunate to have fantastic, inspiring teachers like Rebecca Mormann-Krieger (EFP Program Manager) and John Rodahl. They served as role models as I continued my education at Marquette University (BA History) and Alverno College (MA Education).

I have been teaching high school for 12 years. Through those years, I have taught a variety of Social Studies topics, including US and World History, Psychology, Economics, Ethnic Studies, and others. Building relationships with students has always been my first priority. I enjoy tailoring my lessons and assessments to the unique needs of my students. Watching students connect with history and discover new passions is very important and fulfilling for me.

Helping design curriculum for the Enduring Families Project has also proven fulfilling. I am excited about having the opportunity to teach students about local history, including voices of people who are often forgotten in traditional history books.

Darrell Ferguson – Author and “The Professor” in EFP: Children’s Stories

No one has better communication skills than Darrell Ferguson, thus he became a Non-commissioned Officer serving as international trainer, speaking multiple languages, for the US Army for 6 years in Europe and Asia. Then collaborated in public schools with Special Needs children for fourteen years and is currently working for the Department of Workforce Development, Bureau of Apprenticeships in Apprenticeship Training.

Darrell learned to speak the language of a nonverbal, autistic, violent, intellectually disabled fifteen-year-old-man/child. This young man’s IEP suggested his ability as a second grader. How did Darrell manage the rage inside this scared child? First with YouTube music, slowly finding attracted his attention. Within a year the young man was playing piano with one hand, by the time he graduated he was playing music with both hands. He never learned the spoken word, but Darrell and he learned American Sign Language together. By the time he graduated at age 21 he was finishing his homework and participating in class, with Darrell’s guidance. This shows you Darrell’s patience and love for children.

Students came to school/class more often because they wanted to know how Darrell was going to translate information into a “story.” School became fun, learning was exciting, and education was a success for more children. Darrell and his story-telling abilities were the key.

Darrell Ferguson, veteran of US Army, serving on Active Duty as Equal Opportunity NCO and Training NCO unit of 500 personnel ensuring quarterly standards were met, to employee for the state of Wisconsin, to EFP: Children’s Stories writer. Darrell has had an expansive career.

Darrell portrayed George Edwin Taylor in the EFP performances and videos, and he was key to our success with audiences talk backs. He knows the history, not only the history of his character, but the history of La Crosse, West Salem and Sparta. He is thoroughly involved in the project and production. Darrell has also portrayed characters in other theatre productions.

Rebecca Mormann-Krieger – EFP Program Manager and Historian

Rebecca Mormann-Krieger taught at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, a Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History school, for eighteen years. Studied with greatest research-writers of our generation; Ira Berlin, James Oliver Horton, David Blight, and James Basker. Learning the fortitude to document truth in history.

Rebecca graduated from UW-La Crosse in 1976 and during undergraduate years studied with her mentor for the Enduring Families Project, Dr. Bruce Mouser. Jump 45 years forward in time from being twenty something in 1976. Now, she and Mouser were retired teachers laughing how they were only a decade apart in age. How fast life travels, yet in full circle.

As a teacher Rebecca integrated arts and academics. She team taught for many years with an English teacher/ writer named Glen Scott Copper. It was a dynamic pairing and the classes were powerful, student-driven and challenging courses where all learning styles and academic levels found a home.

Dr. Bruce Mouser – Author

Black La Crosse 1850 -1906, For Labor Race and Liberty, George Edwin Taylor, His Historic Race for the White House and the Making of Independent Black Politics, and George Coleman Poage, 1880-1962: America’s First African American Olympic Medalist

Bruce L. Mouser (1937-2018) was a distinguished historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, specializing in African and African-American history. With a Ph.D. in History from Indiana University, Mouser’s work focused on the African slave trade and Black settlement in the upper Mississippi River towns.

Mouser’s extensive research on African-American residents in La Crosse, WI, during the late 1800s to early 1900s led to numerous publications. Notable among these are Black La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1850-1906: Settlers, Entrepreneurs & Exodusers and For Labor, Race, and Liberty: George Edwin Taylor, His Historic Run for the White House, and the Making of Independent Black Politics, the latter of which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography. He also documented the life of George Coleman Poage, the first African American athlete to win an Olympic medal, who had roots in La Crosse.

In 1984, he was recognized with a National Endowment for the Humanities award for his study on the life of Reverend Peter Hartwig and the Church Missionary Society in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

His legacy continues to inspire through his extensive body of work.