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Poet & Arts Leader
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I have been writing poetry since college, when my first poem was published in The Iowa Review as an AWP Intro Award Winner. Since then, my poems, essays, and reviews have been published in more than 70 print and online literary journals, and I am a regular featured reader and presenter at literary events and conferences. My poetry chapbook, Hurry, Love, was published in standard & fine arts editions (sold out). My full-length collection of poems, Trace, won the Many Voices Project competition and Kirkus Reviews not only gave it a prestigious Kirkus starred review but also named it one of the Best Indie Books of 2020.
I have received many awards for my work, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council, five fellowships and travel grants from the McKnight and Jerome Foundations, and two grants from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County. I have an MFA in Poetry and I have been a creative resident at Centrum, New York Mills, the Anderson Center, and the Blacklock Nature Sanctuary. |
Mentor & Coach
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I am an enthusiastic teacher and I love working with students. For 35 years, I have taught writing workshops for adults and young people in literary writing centers, university classrooms and elementary schools, prisons and juvenile detention centers, and youth, art, and health organizations. I have received awards for Excellence in Teaching from The Loft Literary Center, the University of Utah, and the Jerome Foundation. I currently teach workshops at The Writer's Center, Hugo House, The Loft Literary Center, as well as at regional book festivals and in private homes in the DC area.
In 2016, I became a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and an active member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I combine my teaching and coaching skills to support writers and artists at all levels with their creative projects and their roadblocks (procrastination, time management, self-doubt, etc.). My coaching approach is enhanced with additional training mindfulness training and the neuroscience behind habit formation, productivity, and finding flow. I also have 12 years of experience as a personal coach, including 4 years of coaching part-time in a very rigorous international leadership program. As a Professional Certified Coach, I achieved, and maintain, PCC credentials with ICF and am committed to their code of ethics. Recent professional development: courses by Brain by Design and Positive Intelligence 100x Training. Trainings based on Running an Anti-Racist Workshop with Felica Rose Chavez, Trauma-informed Structures in Creative Spaces with Dr. Zain Shamoon, and Teaching Black: The Craft of Teaching on Black Life with Rachel Werner. |
