Publisher

Mariela Griffor is the founder and publisher of Marick Press. A native of Chile, Griffor was forced to flee the regime of Augusto Pinochet after the murder of her fiancé by agents of the dictator and threats against her own life. She spent 12 years in Sweden, where she met her husband, Edward Griffor, a native Detroiter and world-renowned mathematician. In 1998 the couple moved to Grosse Pointe Park, where they live with their two daughters. Griffor earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a certificate in Montessori education, and is completing a master's degree in Media Studies at Wayne State University. She is a co-founder of the Detroit Institute for Creative Writers at Wayne State University, where she also served as Detroit Urban Woman Writer in Residence in 2003. She is curator of the Poets Follies reading series at the Grosse Pointe Artists Association. She is the author of Exiliana and House.

Elizabeth Carrie

Attorney

Betty practices law with the firm Barris, Sott, Denn and Driker in the areas of taxation, corporate, partnership and limited liability company law, and estate planning and administration. On the non-business side, Betty has extensive experience in estate planning including generation skipping transfer tax planning and the creation of intentional grantor trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, family limited liability companies and private foundations. Betty has given presentations to graduate level business students on the topics of business formation and employment law issues relating to hiring, disciplining and firing employees. She has also spoken before the Association of Governmental Accountants on estate planning. She received a B.A. in Economics from Eastern Michigan University, a J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida and a LL.M. in taxation from the University of Florida. She is a member of the Metropolitan Detroit and American Bar Associations and of the Michigan Women's Tax Association. She is an active supporter of the fine arts in Southeaster Michigan.

Ernest Valentino 

A native of Michigan, Valentino has been active in industry and technology over several decades. He has over 25 years of experience ranging from automotive to financial. Valentino is a member of the board of Management Pacific Capital Markets, a Hedge fund for private investors and is a part of the management team of RSB TEK Consulting, a firm supplying engineering and information technology support to automotive OEM's. He is engaged currently at Chrysler Group LLC. Previous clients include Chrysler, GM, Ford, Daimler and Nissan in the automotive sector as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Empire of N.Y. Blue Cross of Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina in insurance and medical. Valentino has previously been a consultant to the investment and advertizing/marketing industries with clients including Pacific Capital, Roney, Dauber and Company and Visual Services. Valentino recieved a BS degree in Management from Northern Michigan University and lives in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI with his wife Denise

Suzanne Schneider

Suzanne Schneider has been working for different non-profit organizations such Grosse Pointe Artists Association, and Friends of the Libraries in Grosse Pointe. She has been editor of numerous magazines. She grew up in Detroit. She is active member of the Grosse Pointe Communities.