Nancy Traversy
Owner, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Living Barefoot for me is creating beautiful, magical and authentic stories and art and bringing these to a grassroots, global community of people who care about how our next generation of children is raised.
I was born in Canada into a family with a bit of an artistic bent. Though I love all aspects of colour, design, and illustration, I also kind of like numbers and somehow ended up with a business degree and a job in the banking division of Price Waterhouse in London after graduating. I really didn’t quite fit the mould there, so soon left to work in a more artistic environment in a London design house. I stayed in the design industry for many years, where I got to travel often to the Far East and learned lots about all aspects of running an entrepreneurial creative company.
When I met Tessa in 1992, my eldest daughter was three weeks old and I had just started my own management consulting firm advising small creative start-ups. As a new mum and an avid explorer of world cultures, I was immediately captivated by the idea of publishing books for children that celebrated diversity and imagination. I didn’t really know much about the publishing industry back then and, in hindsight, that was probably lucky as Barefoot has always strived to be more of a pioneer than a follower.
Over the next eight years, I had three more children and ran Barefoot from my home in north London. My kids were always around and actively involved in testing stories, picking artists and generally helping out. In 2001, we decided to cross the Atlantic so I could be closer to our North American business. Since then, I’ve lived in Concord, MA with my husband, four children, an ever-expanding menagerie of animals and lots of colour!
|
 |
Tessa Strickland
Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief
Living Barefoot is about working and playing in a way which helps children, whatever their culture, or country or background, to stretch their imaginative wings.
Though I was born and brought up in rural England, I’ve always been fascinated by different cultures, by the relationships between people and their surroundings, and by the stories we share to make sense of our world. I graduated with a degree in classics from Cambridge University and taught English to schoolchildren in Japan for several years. On my return to London, I began my career in publishing, working first at Penguin and later at Random House, where I was Editorial Director of the Rider List.
By then I’d had my third child, and was looking for a way to leave the corporate world and have a business that included my children. I’m often asked how I came up with the company name ‘Barefoot Books’ – it actually came to me out of the blue, and seemed to be the best way to express what I wanted to do for children, which was give them nourishing “soul food” in the form of art and story.
I now live and work in southwest England and work closely with our authors and illustrators. I also write stories for both children and adults, teach creative writing, and am a qualified yoga teacher
|
 |
John Bigay
Chief Marketing Officer
There’s a real need for high quality stories for children, so it’s incredibly rewarding to work for a company that’s dedicated to creating content that respects children’s intelligence and doesn’t dumb down to them. That’s what resonates for me about living Barefoot.
As head of marketing, it’s my job to spread the word about the stories, art, CDs, and other digital content that Barefoot Books creates, and help make people more aware of the company and brand. As a long-time student of meditation and world wisdom traditions, I particularly appreciate the way our books connect readers to the teachings of other cultures and promote global understanding.
Growing up, I was really into music more than anything else. I played drums in various bands all through high school and college. I worked in the music business right out of college, as a performer and on the business side, working for Universal Music and MCA Records. Later I became increasingly interested in the intersection of media and technology, and worked for a variety of companies that focused on the digital side of the media and entertainment business, including PRI’s Public Interactive, Gannett's Captivate Network, and BzzAgent, an international word-of-mouth marketing firm. I’m still fascinated by the power of technology to shape the way people create, access and share great content.
I live in Concord, Massachusetts with my wife, and two children. It was actually my two kids who introduced me to Barefoot Books. They’re 8 and 11 now, but they’ve been huge fans for years.
|
 |
|
Karen Janson
Group Operations Director
For me, living Barefoot is all about bringing reading, creativity, acceptance, and discovery to both adults and children throughout the world.
I grew up in a small upstate New York town called Skaneateles and was one of eight children in a large Irish/Catholic family. My dad was a professor and educator who loved reading. Every week when we were young, he took us to the local library to pick out books. I began my professional career in public relations, but soon moved on to the airline industry. There, I got to travel the world and learn about different people and cultures, as well as the operations side of the business.
After I had my three children, I moved into the world of toys, working for the Hasbro Game and Interactive Groups in sales operations. Of course, I never lost my love of books, so when I met Nancy and had the opportunity to become the Group Operations Director for Barefoot Books in 2001, it was like a dream come true. I helped Nancy set-up the entire U.S. operation, and since then have developed, implemented and managed all aspects of general and sales operations.
I now live with my husband, north of Boston in Newburyport, MA, a beautiful town right on the ocean. As our kids have grown, the house has gotten a bit empty, but it is still full of books, good times, and good friends.
|
 |
|
