LeakyCon Managers
 MELISSA ANELLICo-Founder / Executive Director Melissa Anelli has been active in the Harry Potter fandom for nearly 12 years. In addition to co-founding LeakyCon and Mischief Management, she is the owner and operator of The Leaky Cauldron and the new site LeakyNews.com. Melissa’s first book, the New York Times bestselling Harry, A History, was published in 2008 with a foreword from J.K. Rowling. Since 2009, Melissa has also served as senior creative consultant on Pottermore. In her spare time, she indulges her other obsessions: theater, television, and the sparklification of designer shoes. A NYC native and dweller, Melissa is currently hard at work on her second book. |
 STEPHANIE DORNHELMCo-Founder / Executive Director On a family trip to Yosemite in 1999, Stephanie Dornhelm was searching for an excuse to avoid hiking with her boyfriend’s parents (now her in-laws). In desperation, she began reading a children’s book lying on the coffee table…and within ten minutes, she had fallen in love with Harry Potter. She joined the staff of The Leaky Cauldron as a PotterCast Transcription Elf and attended her first fan conference (Lumos) in 2006. She lives in New York City with her husband, a sports-loving Muggle, and their daughter, a future Harry Potter fan. |
DAVID MICHAELS
Finance Director
David (a native Brit) met Melissa in London and was invited to join the LeakyCon team in summer of 2011. During college David was a soccer coach for MLS Camps and was thrilled at the prospect of getting involved in such a vibrant and diverse community driven conference. He has been working in finance for over seven years, first at an asset management firm and then as a senior analyst in a U.K. bank.
MELISSA LAWSON
Project Manager
Melissa is a high school librarian in southern Ohio. She fell in love with Harry in a YA Literature class in the spring of 2001, then joined The Leaky Cauldron when none of her friends had finished reading Half Blood Prince and she was desperate to discuss. In early 2006 she wrangled a spot on the Leaky staff and can’t seem to pry herself away. When she’s not at school or planning LeakyCon, she’s usually singing or snuggling her one-year-old son.
JENNIFER CLACK
Director of Entertainment and Programming
Jennifer is the Director of Entertainment and Programming for LeakyCon. In the Muggle world, she is an event planner and Mom to a teenage daughter. She spends a lot of her time on random art projects (darn you Pinterest), watching way too much TV (Once Upon a Time and BBC in particular) and reading late into the night. She found her way into the Harry Potter fandom in 2002 and is still excited to be part of this amazing group of people. Since then, she has found many other YA Literature loves but nothing will ever compare to Harry.
MAUREEN JOHNSON
LeakyCon Lit Director
Maureen Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books for Young Adults, including The Name of the Star, Suite Scarlett, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Her books have been published in 21 languages, and she was an Edgar and Andre Norton Award nominee. Maureen spends large portions of her day tweeting about hamsters, writing, battery-eating, and disco dancing—so much so that Time Magazine named her one of the top 140 people to follow online, and there were celebrities on that list and everything! She, too, grew up in Philadelphia—but unlike Robin, did not go to Harvard. She went to Columbia University for her MFA, so she supposes that is something. Maureen is thrilled to be the LeakyCon Lit Director. She is always available on Twitter (@maureenjohnson) or at www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com. Weasley is her king.
JORDAN EDWARDS
Creative Director
Jordan Edwards is the Creative Director for LeakyCon and works as a graphic designer in Ohio full time. He joined the LeakyCon staff in 2009 after attending LeakyCon in Boston. When not wandering around Harry’s wondrous world, he can be found trekking across Middle-earth or daydreaming about the Happiest Place on Earth. He is thrilled to be a part of the amazing team that helps bring the magic of LeakyCon to life.
KATIE BURNSIDE
Director of Marketing and Publicity
Katie is a retail clothing buyer and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. She found a love of all things Harry in the summer of 2005 and hasn’t stopped reading and re-reading the Harry Potter books since. She joined the LeakyCon team in September 2010 as Publicity Coordinator and has enjoyed every minute of working with everyone that makes LeakyCon such an amazing event. She can most often be found day-dreaming about fashion, watching Doctor Who, and planning her next trip to Paris.
TAEKIA BLACKWELL
Logistics Director
Taekia discovered Harry Potter when she was forced to read Chamber of Secrets in the sixth grade, and never looked back. She joined the LeakyCon team as the on-site RockStar Liaison in 2011 and was hooked. In the muggle world, Taekia works in development and external relations for a small nonprofit organization in Washington, DC. No stranger to the power and awesomeness of the Harry Potter fandom, she has previously served as the Managing Director of the Harry Potter Alliance.