A Chicago native, Isabel Schechter moved to San Diego in 2014. She has worked as an event manager for almost 20 years. Prior to moving to San Diego, Isabel was very active in the Chicago sustainability community, including outreach to underserved communities. She served as a board member for Faith in Place, an environmental nonprofit working with faith communities on environmental issues, and a Steering Committee member for Women in Green, a women's sustainability group.

Isabel is a strong supporter women's reproductive freedom, including volunteering for women's clinic defense. She has also supported civil liberties and hunger causes for many years. Isabel is passionate about libraries as a public good, and has volunteered as a literacy tutor, and served on the Chicago Public Library Foundation Junior Board. Within one week of moving to San Diego, she joined the Friends of the Library chapter for her local branch library and has been an active volunteer.

Isabel has been active in science-fiction communities for more than 20 years, attending and planning conventions, and as a frequent panelist. Her essays on fandom, religion, community building, and race and representation in science fiction/fantasy have been published in WisCon Chronicles; Invisible 2: Personal Essays on Race and Representation in SF/F; and Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Isabel is currently co-Chair for the San Juan (Puerto Rico) in 2017 bid for the North American Science Fiction Convention.

Isabel is a first-generation college graduate and holds a master's degree in Divinity from University of Chicago.