About Ellen Graf-Martin

As the founder of and Director of Publicity & Marketing at Graf-Martin Communications, Ellen Graf-Martin brings to the table nine years of experience in the book marketing and publicity world as well as a number of years of ministry and missions involvement.

Ellen worked with RG Mitchell Family Books as manager of Media & Consumer Relations, initiating and developing communications and promotions strategies for top-level authors and publishing brands. In this role she developed Ellen’s Picks as a significant Canadian youthwork presence—a unique, groundbreaking multifaceted book recommendation resource. Ellen has arranged campaigns for authors such as Max Lucado, Kevin Leman, Stormie Omartian, Carol Kent, “The Royal Chef” Darren McGrady, Dr. Barry Sears, Marcus Buckingham and Laurie Beth Jones.  She has also worked as a resource consultant for several national and international ministries. 

Ellen is also an effective and engaging public speaker who truly believes in the hope of abundant life and powerful potential within each of us!

Born and raised on Vancouver Island, BC, Ellen now lives with her husband Dan in Waterloo, Ontario. A strong commitment to personal and professional growth and excellence means that Ellen puts her heart into whatever she does.  An avid coffee lover, aspiring chef and creative craft designer, she is also passionate about equipping the church, missions and discipleship.  Ellen has always been a voracious reader; one of her first loves was the written word.  She wonders how many hours of her life have been spent lost in the pages of a book, and no one, even her second grade teacher, is at all surprised that she works with books and authors today. 

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About Tim Underwood

As the Marketing, Media, PR, & Communications Ninja at Graf-Martin Communications, Tim brings over seven years of experience in the book marketing, over 15 years of business management experience, as well as over 20 years of ministry leadership and staff roles.

Tim holds a BSc in biochemistry and an MBA in marketing and management with over 12 years of marketing experience in many professional situations and different industries. He has had seven years of experience in the publishing industry presenting, promoting, & positioning publishers, best-selling authors, and their products to retailers and consumers.

He is passionate both about connecting resources to needs and about research, which have become threads through his personal life and career. He has a strong commitment to personal and professional development which has lead him to reading, studying, and formal education. 

Most recently, Tim worked with RGM Marketing as Senior Brand Manager and Channel Marketing Manager, designing and developing communications and promotions strategies for top-level authors and publishing brands.

He has developed and implemented marketing campaigns for authors and publishing brands such as Max Lucado, John C Maxwell, Kevin Leman, Stormie Omartian, Ted Dekker, Stephen Lawhead, John Eldredge, Billy Graham, Charles R Swindoll, Beth Moore, Rick Warren, Gary Chapman, Sara Evans, Robin McGraw, Denise Jackson, Barry Sears, Marcus Buckingham, Jeff Foxworthy, Stephen Covey, Donald Trump, Hugs books, and many others. This has involved being a product expert, pricing specialist, pricing negotiation, and account manager of the brands. He also managed a creative (print and web) media team and designed and implemented promotions specific for various retail sales channels, customer groupings, and consumers.

He always has dozens of books on the go at one time, has also been an avid reader and frequent buyer at bookstores. Born and raised in BC, lived many years on the prairies, traveled extensively, Tim has called Waterloo, Ontario home since 1992.  He enjoys cooking and loves a great cup of coffee. In addition to reading, his hobbies include research, IT, and collecting & listening to music.

He has a keen interest and ability in competitive analysis, research, marketing research, e-marketing, social media marketing, and emerging technology.  He keeps updated on new trends and technologies in web 2.0, web 3.0, RSS, SEO optimization, and social media/micro-media monitoring. You can find Tim at Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and Linked-In

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About Julie Warkentin

Julie Warkentin is Marketing Assistant and Special Markets Consultant. In this role, Julie provides support for our marketing and publicity campaigns and will be assisting ministries, organizations and other special markets customers across Canada in selecting the best available resources from Baker Publishing Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers as well as other sales initiatives.

Customer Service has been at the core of every position Julie has ever held. In both non-profit and corporate environments, she has learned to assist clients and her co-workers in getting the job done effectively and efficiently. She spent 11 years at R.G. Mitchell Family Books and RGM Distribution in a variety of roles including Inside Sales, Retail Management, Administration, and Supervision. She is working toward her Business Diploma at Conestoga College on a part-time basis.