I foster personal, social, and systemic change through education, advocacy, amplification, collaboration, and direct service. At the local, national, and global levels, I work across silos and sectors to fuse intermingled issues and bring awareness to their intersectionality.

The items below enumerate some of my positions, affiliations, and responsibilities, past and present. Inclusive of a selection of the compensated positions I have held, through summarization, they provide a sketch rather than the specifics. For brevity and confidentiality, I do not list client names or project titles, but a sampling of recent engagement registers the breadth of my work, professional expertise, and genre range. Topics include: radicalizing higher education; guaranteed income and economic inclusion; public libraries and homelessness; trauma-informed mental health; Greek tragedy and the Anthropocene; Black economic empowerment; ecological and spiritual renewal; a social benefit startup to enhance immigrants’ economic and social inclusion; conflict mineral trade in Central Africa; the impact of Black Lives Matter in the corporate sector; new dimensions of Caribbean art and directions for its interpretation; memoirs of authors ranging in age from mid-thirties to mid-seventies; coming of age as an undocumented immigrant; national and local civil rights histories; policymaking with an equity lens; spiritual journeys and transformation; and geographical manifestations of racial inequities and community counternarratives.

Like most stories, the one presented in this resume is marked as much by omission as it is by inclusion. If you were able to read between the lines, you would see that most of my work lies behind the scenes and that many of my contributions have been/are inherently supportive in nature and/or pro bono—driven by passion and purpose rather than pursuit of material wealth. I’ve been doing this work for several decades, and the arc is long and deep, so omission represents the necessity of consolidation and the limitations of memory. Further, many of my contributions are either short-term, targeted entry/spot-check, or long-arc, none of which bear enumeration on a compact resume that is by its very nature selective and summative. Some of my pro bono work is reflected in the current service roles and affiliations I list, but much of it is not.

At root, my life has revolved around advancing racial and economic Justice, transformative social movements, and community belonging. Its branches have served to amplify underrepresented voices in print and in public and to elevate marginalized individuals to positions of power and underserved communities to the centers of social and political concern. I promote equity agendas and expand the multiplicity of voices in institutional spaces, civic forums, print culture, and individual consciousness. Please reach out if you see opportunities where I can be impactful in these domains or can add volume and value to your efforts. I am always looking for new and more ways to contribute and collaborate, to be engaged and to engage others. 

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EDUCATION

San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

MLIS, December 2016

Focus on intersection between libraries and social, racial, and economic justice and community inclusion; radical reference; public and school libraries; readers advisory; innovative community engagement; and information literacy, equity, and ethics

Yale University, New Haven, CT

Dual PhD, African American Studies and American Studies, 2006

Dissertation: Between the Country House and the Kitchenette: Literary Excavations of Space and Self in the Work of Henry James and Gwendolyn Brooks. Advisor: Hazel V. Carby

M.Phil., Honors, African American Studies and American Studies, 2003

M.A., Honors, African American Studies and American Studies, 2001

New York University, New York, NY

B.A., Summa Cum Laude, Literature and Social Theory, 1997

Focus on the navigation of public, urban, and political space as defined by gender, race, and class and as represented in literature and the visual and applied arts. Larger research area: relationship between self and space / race and place.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Founded Write You Are as an independent business providing writing instruction & coaching, strategic communications, youth mentorship, public creative arts workshops, college & graduate school advising, consulting, and editorial services
• Lead classes and workshops for all ages at community centers, libraries, and other locations
• Help mission-driven and vision-aligned organizations, institutions, and individuals craft and hone messaging, amplify reach, deepen engagement, and advance their work. Clients include philanthropic foundations, elected officials and civic leaders, nonprofits, community-based organizations, university faculty and administration, and businesses.
• Inspire students and clients through discussions of exemplary poetry and prose, exciting writing prompts, and thoughtful individualized feedback
• Provide writing coaching to discuss and hone craft and to generate, refine, and discuss works-in-progress
• Work with individual, organizational, and institutional clients to incubate, develop, and revise manuscripts and projects across diverse areas of intervention and inquiry, genre, and field of study
• Broad range of expertise in academic editing, including monographs, dissertations, theses, articles, and other nonfiction material; extensive background in literary genres and forms, including poetry, novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and essays
• Create dynamic, informative, and innovative content for individual, institutional, corporate, and organizational clients in both print and digital media platforms
• Research and write grant proposals for varied client base; have secured funding from arts and educational organizations, governmental agencies, charitable foundations, family trusts, and others for a range of causes, projects, and programs

Data Lead, Editor, Communications & Grants Consultant, San Jose State University, School of Information

November 2019–Present                                            

• Work as primary point person for 25+ team members and 125+ faculty to strategize, mine, streamline, and synthesize significant amounts of data to support the iSchool’s reaccreditation process and final report submission
• Assist with content, structural, and copyediting of accreditation report
• Create and edit content for school’s marketing, communications, and external/internal stakeholder reporting
• Help develop and edit content for faculty grant narratives and associated materials

Community Educator

September 2017–Present

• Lead creative writing classes and workshops for all age groups at varied community sites, including Albany Community Center (CA), public libraries (CA, RI), and private homes (CA)

Research Intern, African American Museum & Library at Oakland

April 2016–May 2017

• Research and create a bibliographic digital archive chronicling the history of Blacks in Oakland 1945–2015

Research Intern, Wikimedia Foundation                                                                                                                      

January 2016–September 2016

• Research the intersection between and application of Wikimedia projects to: cultural preservation and knowledge dissemination in the developing world; academic, public, research and special collections libraries; information literacy instruction; and innovative technological platforms
• Design and tag a Zotero bibliographic collection to collocate and disambiguate the data
• Write a comprehensive literature review documenting the evolution of Wikipedia’s role in information literacy frameworks and instruction throughout the world

Farmers Market Lead, New York and Bay Area

1994–2008

• Operated market stand for various organic farms and bakeries in some of the busiest markets in the United States, including Union Square in New York City and Marin Civic Center in California.
• Served on task force to conduct expansive community outreach, particularly to underserved populations and those with lived experience of homelessness, in an effort to make the market a more welcoming space for all community members
• Advocated for more intentional recruitment of BIPOC farmers and vendors and more signage and publicity promoting use of SNAP benefits in the markets
• Built strong relationships with regional agricultural ecosystem providers, community members, and local chefs

English Teacher, 9th & 11th Grade, Honors, Crystal Springs Uplands School                                                                          

August 2007–March 2009

• Collaborated with colleagues to select materials for year-long survey courses in world and American literature
• Instructed students in grammar, close reading, research, academic writing, and historical interpretation of literary texts
• Maintained website for students and parents to keep abreast of course materials
• Served as 9^th Grade advisor

Senior Essay Advisor, Department of American Studies, Yale University                                        

Fall 2004–Spring 2005

• Nominated for position by American Studies department faculty
• Met individually with students to help select and refine senior essay topics; devise research strategies; and draft and edit essays
• Led group tutorials on brainstorming, information literacy strategies, writing and revision process, and bibliographic instruction

Tutor and Summer Program Instructor, Central Falls Public Schools, Rhode Island

December 2004–March 2006

• Assisted 9th-12th grade students with varied class assignments and helped to build study habits and writing skills
• Wrote grant to secure funds from Central Falls School Department to lead summer course for “at-risk” middle school students
• Created and led month-long program to build literacy and math skills

Research Assistant to African American Studies Department Chair, Yale University          

January 2001–May 2006

• Assisted Department Chair with personal and institutional research, preparation and editing of conference papers and journal articles, and creation of course syllabi
• Planned “African American Studies and Yale: Revisiting Origins, Imagining Futures,” held in May 2002; organized conference panels, designed publicity materials and commemorative brochure; wrote and published historical and photographic essay documenting the history of Yale’s African American Studies department

Teaching Fellow, “Formation of Modern American Culture,” Yale University                                                            

Spring 2003, 2004

• Led weekly undergraduate student discussion sections on 20th century American cultural history
• Graded weekly response papers and 2 longer essays
• Collaborated with fellow instructors to present multimedia materials and other dynamic learning opportunities to students
• Pioneered co-teaching model to provide students with broader base of expertise

Teaching Fellow, “Modern African American Literature,” Yale University                                                       

Spring 2003, Fall 2002

• Worked with Professor and co-fellow to draft syllabus and to select notable writers to serve as guest lecturers
• Led weekly discussion sections exploring new voices in African American literature
• Graded close reading exercises and research papers

Instructor, “Black Literature and the Urban Environment,” Yale University                                                        Fall 2003

• Designed new interdisciplinary course for African American Studies Department based on dissertation research and teaching interests
• Intensive writing and discussion focused on identifying patterns, divergences, and narratives to illuminate the diverse migrations and communities that fueled the United States’ urbanization
• Met weekly to present and discuss course materials
• Facilitated and led students on historical walking tour of Harlem

Afro-American Studies Teaching Fellow and Writing Advisor, Wesleyan University                           

Fall 2002–Fall 2003                                    

• Met individually with 60 students on a weekly basis to discuss course materials, devise paper topics, and refine drafts

Lead Organizer, “Langston Hughes and His World” International Conference, Yale University  

March 2001–October 2002

• Drafted grant proposal and budget narrative to Ford Foundation outlining plans for international conference to celebrate centenary of Hughes’s birth
• Secured $100,000 from Ford Foundation and $15,000 from Yale’s Kempf Memorial Fund
• Tracked expenses and prepared budget reports for grantmaking institutions
• Liaised with Yale’s Office of Printing and Publishing Services, the President’s Office, Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, Grants & Contracts, and multiple academic departments to facilitate collaboration and communication
• Prepared website content and all publicity materials, brochures, and souvenirs for event
• Helped plan and execute all conference activities, including: library exhibition, film screening, panel discussions, meals, book signings, music, and theatrical performance
• Coordinated travel plans and lodging arrangements for conference speakers and honored invitees
• Partnered with publishers and performed outreach to New Haven public schools to organize reading, musical performance, and large book donation to local school libraries and classrooms

Development Associate, Providence Public Schools                                                                         September 1998–June 1999

• Researched and identified potential funding sources and helped to compose and edit grant proposals
• Met with local nonprofits, corporations, and other grant-making and grant-seeking entities to identity priorities, share strategies, and cultivate partnerships
• Major projects include grants to provide the following: literacy resources and instruction, expanded afterschool programs, and technological innovation

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

• Finalist, May 2019: National Parks Arts Residency, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
• Alameda County Library Lit Contest February 2019: Winner, “Souls of My Feet”
• John F. Enders Fund Summer Fellowship for Dissertation Writing and Research, 2005
• University Dissertation Fellowship, Susan Rhoda Cutler Fellowship Fund, 2004-2005
• John Perry Miller Fellowship, Summer 2003
• Mellon Fellowship in Gender History, Harvard University, Summer 2002

PUBLICATIONS AND DISTINCTIONS

• “Making Our Words Matter: Reawakening the Radical Imagination, unpublished. 2019.
• A History of African Americans in Oakland, California: an Annotated Bibliography, prepared for the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, AY 2016-2017
• “Data Retrieval, Information Literacy, and Knowledge Synthesis in the Age of Wikipedia: a Framework for Partnership and Progression.” Wiki site: Summer 2016
• “Using a Compass without a Map: the Journey of a Mother-Educator.” Hybrid Pedagogy, 10 May 2016, http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/hybridped/using-a-compass-without-a-map/

• Nourishing our Children and our World through Stories: a Book List that Promotes Awareness and Affirmation of Self, Others, and the Natural World, January 2016
• Review of Selling the Race: Culture, Community, and Black Chicago, 1940-1955, by Adam Green, Economic History Review, 60 (November 2007): 862-864.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

• Libraries Make Great Partners: A Multimedia, Resource-Rich, Interactive Guide to Public Library-Community Partnerships and Initiatives
• Fierce Illumination: Elemental Revelations and Unravelings
• “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Way She Moves”: The Experience and Influence of Women in the Grateful Dead
• Flight of the Beautiful Days: A Chronicle of the Radical Women Who Ignited Bay Area Social and Cultural Movements
• An Apprentice to Words: Why I Write, Why I Teach
• Ivy Grows in the Garden of Eden: A Branch Leaves a Family Tree

SELECTED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Abolitionist Library Association
• Advisor, College & graduate school admissions and persistence and career guidance for first generation, low socioeconomic status, and under-resourced individuals
• Member, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)
• American Copyediting Society
• Member, American Library Association, Social Responsibilities Round Table, Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, and Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table
• Member, Association for the Study of African American Life and History
• Association of Writers & Writing Programs
• Bay Area Editors Forum
• Member, Bay Area Justice Funders Network
• Member, Black Caucus of the American Library Association
• Book Awards Judge, Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE)
• Budget Justice Coalition of Contra Costa
• Member, California Library Association
• California Public Library Advocates
• Committee Member, Herb Biblo Outstanding Leadership Award for Social Justice & Equality, Social Responsibilities Round Table, American Library Association
• Community Advisory Council member, Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, Berkeley, CA
• Contra Costa County Library Commissioner, Supervisorial District 1, CA
• Member, Democracy & Belonging Forum, University of California, Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute
• CorrespondARTS participant, providing creative feedback and affirmation to currently incarcerated individuals
• Consultant, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice for educational institutions, nonprofits, and organizations with authentic intent and limited capacity
• Member, National & Bay Area Chapter, Editorial Freelancers Association
• Member, Guaranteed Income Community of Practice
• Equity Committee, Health, Housing and Homeless Services, Contra Costa County, CA
• Grants Panelist, California Arts Council, Creative Youth Development
• Committee Member, Guaranteed Income Working Group, Contra Costa County
• Housing Justice Workgroup, San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness
• pARTner, correspondence program connecting artists inside and outside of prison, Justice Arts Coalition
• Transcriber, Art work created by incarcerated individuals, Justice Arts Coalition
• Measure X Community Advisory Board District 1 Appointee, Contra Costa County
• Mentor, currently and formerly incarcerated artists
• Jurist, Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize, Progressive Librarians Guild
• Member, National Coalition for the Homeless
• Member, National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
• Organizing Committee Member, Libraries and Homelessness: A Social Justice Issue Summit
• Co-Chair, Programming Committee, Social Responsibilities Round Table, American Library Association
• Member, Progressive Librarians Guild
• Member, Public Library Association
• Racial Justice Coalition of Contra Costa
• Reference by Mail Volunteer, Prison Library Support Network (PLSN)
• Member, REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking
• Reimagine Public Safety Contra Costa
• Research Exchange Volunteer, Archive-Based Creative Arts (Parole Preparation Project)
• Member, United for Libraries
• Board Vice Chair, Library Foundation of Contra Costa
• Youth Justice Reinvestment Table, Contra Costa County

SELECT PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

Collage Poetry Workshop for Kids. 8/7/2023. Edgartown Public Library, Massachusetts

 All Ages Collage Poetry Workshop. 4/29/2023. Berkeley Public Library, California

Collage Poetry Workshop for Teens and Adults. 4/8/2023. Hercules Public Library, California

Collage Poetry Workshop for “Library Insiders” monthly program for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their caregivers. 4/4/2023. Hercules Public Library, California

All Ages Collage Poetry Workshop. 2/4/2023. El Cerrito Public Library, California

Moderator, “Education, Visibility, and Sensitivity.” Homelessness and Libraries: A Social Justice Issue. American Library Association, Social Responsibilities Round Table Summit. 11/14/2022. Virtual.

Collage Poetry Mashup for Families. 4/24/2020. Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, California

Collage Poetry Mashup for Families. 4/22/2020. Hercules Public Library, California

Tweens & Teens Creative Writing Meet-Up: Poetry. 4/14/20. El Cerrito Public Library, California.

Picture Poems: a Workshop for the “Insiders Group.” 2/27/20. Hercules Public Library, California

Tweens & Teens Creative Writing Meet-Up: What is Love?. 2/11/2020. El Cerrito Public Library, California

“Writing Strategies and Success for Homeschooled Families.” 2/1/2020. Invited Talk, Bay Area Homeschool Moms Group.

Family Learning Sundays. 1/5/2020. Providence Public Library, Rhode Island

Flash! Fiction Workshop: a NaNoWriMo Event. 11/16/2019. Berkeley Public Library, North Branch, California

Spooky Stories Writing Workshop. 10/23/2019. El Cerrito Public Library, California

Write Your Way to Outer Space!: a Pre-Summer Reading Workshop. 5/21/2019. El Cerrito Public Library, California

Write Your Way to Outer Space!: a Pre-Summer Reading Workshop. 5/9/2019. Hercules Public Library, California

National Poetry Month: Collage Poetry Mashup. 4/27/2019. Berkeley Public Library, West Branch, California

Try Your Hand at Creative Writing: a Workshop for All Ages. 2/27/2019. Albany Public Library, California

Creative Writing for Young People. 12/9/2018. Albany Public Library, California

“In the Center of Stillness, At the Margins of Urban Life: The Creative Life of Maud Martha’s Interior and the Rhythms of Drake and Cayton’s Black Metropolis.” Collegium for African American Research International Conference, “CrossRoutes: The Meanings of Race for the 21st Century.” Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy. 2001.