Core Team

Charlie Browne, a Duke graduate in engineering, retired to Bainbridge after 35 years as an expatriate business executive, primarily in emerging Latin American and Asian markets. He has been active in the Bainbridge Island Friends of the Library, serving on their Board in the past as Treasurer and later as President. Prior to retirement, his last posting was as Chairman and President of DuPont in China. During the years in Shanghai, he was active in the American Chamber of Commerce, and was elected to serve a term as Chairman. In 2004 he was conferred the Magnolia Award for contributions to Shanghai's development by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. He and his wife are amateur gardeners.

Margaret Chang, a former children’s librarian, holds an MA in Children’s Literature and for 17 years taught college courses in children’s literature. With her Chinese-born husband, she has published four children’s books set in China, and an introduction to the Chinese language. A longtime reviewer for School Library Journal, she served on two American Library Association award committees: the 2005 Caldecott and the 2007 Batchelder. Maggie grew up on the West Coast, and has recently moved to Bainbridge Island from Massachusetts, where she lived for many years. She has served on the Board of Directors for the United States Board on Books for Young People, the US branch of a worldwide organization that promotes peace and international understanding through children’s books, and is now a Washington State Ambassador for USBBY. Her most recent book is Celia’s Robot.

Barbara Clarke joined the core team of Field’s End after sampling all of the organization’s products: classes, roundtables, and the annual conference. Barbara works as a grant writer and has written extensively for corporate clients, trade magazines, and newspapers on a variety of topics. Her memoir, Getting to Home: Sojourn in a Perfect House, was published in 2009. “How Many Writing Books Does It Take to Write a Novel, Memoir, Nonfiction or Something Besides an Annual Holiday Letter?” appeared in the 2010 debut issue of Line Zero, a literary arts magazine. Barbara calls Bainbridge Island home after sojourns in more than a few states. www.barbaraclarke.net

Sue Hassenmiller joined Field's End after retiring from a career in accounting and auditing. A graduate of Golden Gate University, San Francisco, Sue received a degree in accounting. She worked as a government auditor and as the financial manager of a nonprofit organization that finds adoptive parents for special needs children. After attending many Field's End events, Sue is nourishing her creative side by supporting and assisting Field's End in its mission. She plans on using her new free time to complete an historical fiction novel that combines her longtime hobby of genealogy and her love of history. In addition to gardening, Sue enjoys meeting with friends locally and on her blog which includes friends in Canada, Germany, and Australia.

Suzan grew up on Bainbridge Island. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Business Education and a minor in Journalism. She retired in 2009 from UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory where Suzan worked as a financial manager and administrator for the Polar Science Center. Her nonfiction essays have been published in The Seattle Times and magazines such as Still Crazy, Fresh Boiled Peanuts, and Stories with Grace. In 2011 Suzan and her aunt, Betty Johnson, published Women of Strength, an oral history about growing up in North Dakota, World War II, and raising a family on Bainbridge. 

Rand McGreal, as a Bainbridge Island resident, spent his early working years as a bank product manager introducing ATMs and other technologies to the Pacific Northwest. Later he created business connections between Seattle and China. Eventually, with Fletcher Wright he changed the Seattle skyline through innovative public/private partnerships and locally, by leading the Master Plan for the Bremerton waterfront. Rand is a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio, where he nurtured an interest in economics. He recently finished a book on this topic titled Rule of Money. Today, you will find him at his Poulsbo home maintaining his small farm, or on a quiet road cruising on his bike, or in the mountains meandering an overgrown trail looking for a new destination. In his downtime, he sits in his favorite chair and cuddles books about gardening, architectural design, and economic systems.

Nancy is coordinator for the Writers’ Conference held annually in April. She moved to Bainbridge Island from San Francisco in 2006 after a twenty-plus year career in corporate and investment banking. Released from the shackles of a finance career requiring frequent travel and endless working hours, she now explores Seattle and environs mostly on foot and by boat. Nancy attends lectures on art, music and literature and co-facilitates The Salon, a monthly discussion on topical issues impacting local citizens. She’s an aspiring writer and discovered the Field’s End community of writers through its class offerings.