The Harmony, Rodale, and Convergent Team
Theresa Zoro is President of Harmony, Rodale, and Convergent Books—three distinct imprints focused on health, wellness, and spirituality—that are part of the Random House Publishing Group (RHPG). Before assuming this leadership role on the publishing team in April 2023, Theresa was EVP, Executive Creative Director of Integrated Marketing, Publicity & Communications for the RHPG, where she spearheaded the marketing, publicity, and creative design strategy for the division’s multiple imprints and publishing programs.
With more than 25 years in book publishing, Theresa brings a uniquely innovative strategy to content development and audience expansion. Her reader-centric focus, commitment to creative collaboration, and deep passion for books and literacy inform her approach to publishing books that seek to reshape the cultural conversation and provide readers of all ages with information and inspiration to live fuller, better lives.
In addition to her role with Harmony and Rodale, Theresa is a trained Random House Inclusion Partner, DEI facilitator, and Certified Executive Coach with expertise in leadership and change management, transition, and internal and external facilitation. She makes her home in Brooklyn, New York, and is the mother of two.
Gail Gonzales is the Senior Vice President, Deputy Publisher of Harmony, Rodale & Convergent Books. She works closely with editorial, managing editorial, sales, production, marketing, and publicity to drive business strategy, growth, and optimization of the Harmony and Rodale lists. Prior to joining Penguin Random House, she was VP, Publisher of Rodale Inc., Director of Integrated Marketing at Simon & Schuster, and Director of Marketing, Publicity, and New Media at Hay House. She has spent her career focusing on the health and wellness category and has worked with many top authors including Vice President Al Gore, Bill Nye, Lewis Howes, David Agus, MD, Shalane Flanagan, Kristin Cavallari, Dave Asprey, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, and Caroline Myss.
Cindy Murray As VP, Senior Director of Marketing, Publicity, and Brand Strategy, oversees the publicity and marketing teams for Harmony Rodale, setting publicity and marketing strategy for the imprints representing their wide-range of titles and brands to national media, influencer platforms, brand partnerships; and working in partnership with the Harmony Rodale editorial team to deepen and expand the iconic Harmony and Rodale imprints.
She began her publishing career at Ballantine Books, working her way up and across the expanding Random House Publishing Group over the years. Her deep experience in commercial publishing has driven bestsellers across a wide range of genres, brands, and authors that showcase the depth of her creativity, publicity acumen, and evolving expertise in building and executing holistic marketing and publicity campaigns. Her portfolio spans a wide range of categories: health and wellness, lifestyle and food, social justice, politics and current affairs, sports and memoir, as well as numerous celebrity book launches, leading a team of publicists and marketers to craft focused, effective, and impactful campaigns for a wide-ranging list of authors and books.
Marnie Cochran, VP & Editorial Director of Rodale Books, acquires both narrative and prescriptive books across a wide range of commercial topics, including parenting, education, special needs, pregnancy and childbirth, health, diet, healthy cooking, self-help, and psychology. In her more than 30 years in publishing, she has worked closely with academic, psychological, medical, and cultural thought leaders.
Matthew Benjamin, Editorial Director of Harmony Books, acquires commercial nonfiction, narrative journalism, braided memoir, self-development, science, psychology, and business leadership. Projects at Harmony and Rodale include the recent New York Times bestsellers’ Lighter by Yung Pueblo and You Owe You by Eric Thomas as well as the USA Today bestseller HWPO by Mat Fraser, The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter, The Night the Lights Went Out by Drew Magary, The Rugged Life by Clint Emerson, Seen, Heard, and Paid by Alan Henry, How Basketball Can Save the World by David Hollander, Build for Tomorrow by Jason Feifer, The Heart is the Strongest Muscle by Tia-Clair Toomey, Ghost Town Living by Brent Underwood, Carry the Weight by Ian and Alisa Karmel, Strong Female Character by Fern Brady, and Power of Style by David Kibbe.
Derek Reed, Editorial Director of Convergent
Derek joined Penguin Random House in 2011 and has since edited a wide range of New York Times bestsellers, including Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here, Jedidiah Jenkins’s To Shake the Sleeping Self, Cole Arthur Riley’s This Here Flesh, Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ, George W. Bush’s Out of Many, One and Portraits of Courage, Scott Harrison’s Thirst, Shaka Senghor’s Writing My Wrongs, and Kevin and Melissa Fredericks’ Marriage Be Hard. Acquiring in the categories of religion, politics, memoir, pop culture, sports, leadership, and psychology, Derek looks for authors with distinct voices, unforgettable stories, and unique ways of addressing how we live and seek meaning in a complex world.
Dervla Kelly, Editorial Director of Rodale Lifestyle, is passionate about acquiring books in the cooking, lifestyle, and home decor space by authors who can inspire and challenge their readers. She has acquired and edited books for Rodale Books as well as Ten Speed Press, including a number of New York Times bestsellers, such as the Run Fast, Eat Slow series by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky, True Roots and True Comfort by Kristin Cavallari, and the Bad Manners series, as well as Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor, and IACP Award winner Molly on the Range by Molly Yeh. Upcoming titles for Rodale include Running on Veggies by Lottie Bildirici, Rise & Run by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky, Brave New Meal by Bad Manners, Practically Vegan by Nisha Melvani, and Dinnertime SOS by Amy Palanjian.
Donna Loffredo, Executive Editor, edits and acquires books that are eye-opening, thought-provoking, and voice-driven. She enjoys working with a diverse range of authors who bring new ideas and fresh voices to the shelf. Her editorial focus is on memoir, cookbooks, idea-driven nonfiction, and practical nonfiction, with special interests in health, psychology, relationships, personal transformation, spirituality, sustainability, nature, and animals. She has acquired and edited bestsellers across categories, including personal transformation (Welcome Home by Najwa Zebian, the New York Times bestseller The Buddha and the Badass by Vishen Lakhiani); memoir (Tiffany Jenkins’s High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict’s Double Life and Cat and Nat’s Mom Truths, both national bestsellers); health (Toxic Superfoods by Sally K. Norton) and psychology (the New York Times bestseller Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship by Terrence Real and Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., and Forrest Hanson). Her bestselling cookbooks include Brittany Williams’s Instant Loss Cookbook and Jenné Claiborne’s Sweet Potato Soul.
Katy Hamilton, Executive Editor
Before joining Convergent, Katy worked for HarperOne for fourteen years, most recently as Executive Editor, where she acquired New York Times bestselling authors including Rachel Held Evans, Gary John Bishop, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Emily P. Freeman, and Paul Scheer. Katy has also worked with notable authors such as Diana Butler Bass, Father James Martin, Jana Kramer, Propaganda, Arielle Estoria, as well as the estates of C. S. Lewis and Henri J. M. Nouwen. She is always on the hunt for authors sharing transformational messages, whether that takes the form of an inspirational memoir, a practical self-help guide, a fresh approach to spiritual practices, or a lifestyle book that helps readers find meaning, fulfillment, and intentionality in their lives. Katy is based in San Francisco.
Michele Eniclerico, Senior Editor, primarily acquires titles for Harmony Books and is interested in narrative nonfiction, social psychology, and prescriptive memoirs, along with new and diverse perspectives on wellness, health and healthy eating, and relationships. She has acquired and edited books such as Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee, The Quick Fix Kitchen by Tia Mowry, Rules of Estrangement by Dr. Joshua Coleman, and Unmasking Autism by Dr. Devon Price. Upcoming titles include relationship guide We Over Me by social media stars and power couple Devale and Khadeen Ellis, The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide by Dr. Robin Stern, and eco-activist foraging handbook Our Kindred Home by Alyson Morgan. She’s also worked editorially with bestselling authors such as Will Cole, Mark Sisson, Sadhguru, the LadyGang, and Alan Christianson.
Elysia Liang, Editor, acquires prescriptive nonfiction across the entire spectrum of wellness—from health and fitness, to business and self-help, to cooking and lifestyle. She is especially interested in on-trend books that meet a particular moment and offer practical tools for living fully. Elysia has acquired and is currently editing The Elevation Approach by Tina Wells, How to ADHD by Jessica McCabe, and Investing for Women by Dr. Jessica Spangler. Her upcoming projects also include Hungry as Hell, the fifth cookbook in the Bad Manners series.
Katherine Leak, Associate Editor, is interested in a variety of topics, including cooking, health and wellness, lifestyle, and fun self-help. Her acquisitions include You Can Cook This! by Max La Manna, a plant-based cookbook designed to fight food waste by using up leftover ingredients and Coffee Self-Talk by Kristen Helmstetter, a guide to creating a life-changing routine with your morning cup of coffee—and she played a key editorial role on Toxic Superfoods by Sally K. Norton. Her upcoming projects include Person in Progress by Jemma Sbeg, host of the podcast The Psychology of Your 20s.
Leita Williams, Associate Editor, acquires practical and commercial nonfiction in the categories of self-improvement, poetry, spirituality, comedy, social commentary, memoir, wellness, Christian living, and lifestyle. Some of her favorites niches include nature writing, LGBTQ voices, experiment-driven projects, Southern authors, food writing, Gen Z, and inspirational illustrated books. Since joining Convergent in 2021, she has edited acclaimed titles like Make Believe by Victoria Hutchins, Habits for Healing by Nakeia Homer, Making Room by Carl Siciliano, Soulfull by Farrell Mason, and Here by Lydia Sohn. Her upcoming projects include A Rebellion of Care by David Gate, Uncoupled by Daniel Cox, and a book with Victor Fontanez. Georgia-bred and Brooklyn-based, Leita is always looking for the next community-driven storyteller that wants to help create meaning in the world.
Tiffany Ma, Assistant Editor, supports Donna Loffredo and Dervla Kelly at Harmony and Rodale. She is curious about all things food, fitness, and pop culture. If she’s not reading through her to-be-read pile of books, she’s watching anything and everything on the Internet.
Mia Pulido, Editorial Assistant, supports Marnie Cochran and Matthew Benjamin at Harmony and Rodale. She especially enjoys working on prescriptive memoirs with fresh perspectives on self-help and personal development.
Ashley Shoemaker, Editorial Assistant, supports Derek Reed and Katy Hamilton at Convergent. She is ready and eager to seek out new talents and add to Convergent’s list. Ashley was a fellow for the Literary Agents of Change Fellowship program prior to joining the PRH team at the end of 2023.
Claire Readie, Publishing Associate, supports Theresa Zoro and Gail Gonzales at Harmony, Rodale, and Convergent in coordinating Frontlist and Backlist span management. She has a passion for connecting readers to titles that will help them live longer and happier.