Staff & Board

What do you do for work?

I am the Events & Sponsorships Manager for Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, a non-profit serving minority students pursuing careers in STEM. I’ve also performed as a musician since 2007 and continue to do so when and where I can.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

I’m a passionate advocate for healing through expression of any kind. Similarly, to music, the power and potential of Pongo is unmistakable. Crossing cultures and borders, it requires that we tap into a universal feature of the human experience – ourselves.

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

Still I Rise by the great Maya Angelou. Her unshakeable calm, confidence and courage is something I’ll always admire and revere.

What do you do for work?

I am a consultant to nonprofits, mostly in the Pacific Northwest. The focus of my work is strategic planning and facilitating conversations around organizational identity and plans for the future.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

Everyone who comes in contact with Pongo has the chance to witness authentic personal expression and that, to me, is the most profound thing about being human.

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

I can’t stop reading Ada Limón. I find her poems to be fierce, true and exquisite. I keep The Carrying by my bedside.

What do you do for work?

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. My primary clinical interests are emergency psychiatry, consult and liaison psychiatry, and culturally informed care. I am also in the process of developing a clinical pathway at Seattle Children’s Hospital for Native American patients and their families in need of mental health services within the WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho).

Why does Pongo matter to you?

As a youth, I felt that poetry was a major component of my ability to process my own adverse experiences growing up in rural Montana. This very personal connection is what ultimately drives me support a program such as Pongo that provides this same opportunity for underserved and at-risk youth to learn the power of poetic expression.

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet? 

The love letters that Pablo Neruda wrote to all aspects of his life called to me as a young girl, naïve and enamored with the concept of love which has since matured and become more nuanced with age, just as his poems have on multiple revisits over the years.

Entrance of the Rivers

by Pablo Neruda

Beloved of the rivers, beset
By azure water and transparent drops,
Like a tree of veins your spectre
Of dark goddess biting apples:
And then awakening naked
To be tattooed by the rivers,
And in the wet heights your head
Filled the world with new dew.
Water rose to your waist,
You are made of wellsprings
And lakes shone on your forehead.
From your sources of density you drew
Water like vital tears
And hauled the riverbeds to the sand
Across the planetary night,
Crossing rough, dilated stone,
Breaking down on the way
All the salt of geology,
Cutting through forests of compact walls
Dislodging the muscles of quartz.

What do you do for work?

By day, I’m a tech writer and editor. By night (by always?), I moonlight as an arts/book critic, as a global health writer, and I teach writing classes at Seattle’s Hugo House. I also have years of book publishing experience, and have worked for a variety of publishing houses, both big and small. I have a bachelor’s in art, an MFA in creative writing, and one book and many articles to my name.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

Because poetry is amazing, and because too few people read it. I know personally how much poetry can help one make sense of the world, and how it can help people deal with trauma.

To quote George Oppen’s “Of Being Numerous”:

Clarity, clarity, surely clarity is the most beautiful
thing in the world,
A limited, limiting clarity

I have not and never did have any motive of poetry
But to achieve clarity

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

This is an impossible question! If I had to name one poet & one poem, I’d say Larry Levis’s long poem, “The Widening Spell of the Leaves.”

What do you do for work?

I work as a Communications Manager and Operations Specialist with Autodesk’s Security team. I began my career, however, in literary publishing and have a decade of editorial and production experience with publishing houses both large and small. My recent career pivot has allowed me to focus on strategy development and executive communications for a mission-driven company I love, while affording me time to volunteer with various organizations and offer pro-bono editorial services to individuals and nonprofits in the PNW.  

Why does Pongo matter to you?

Poetry was my first passion and remains an integral part of my life and well-being today, and I am a firm believer in the healing powers of writing. I love that Pongo shares this understanding and has created an invaluable program to provide an expressive outlet, and by extension form of mental health care, to underserved groups.

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

So many! I love Claudia Rankine, Michael and Matthew Dickman, Cynthia Cruz, Danez Smith, Joshua Bennett, Sharon Olds—the list is endless! I have an especially soft spot for poets who are able to weave beautiful language around ugly experiences.

What do you do for work?

After a long career in health care administration, I am currently working as a small business consultant. I primarily provide guidance in the areas of operations, human resources, and finance. My primary goal is to gather as much information as possible, then help the client act on that data to drive business improvement. I focus on breaking down processes to improve operational efficiency and strongly believe that investing in people is critical to business success. 

In addition, I’m especially passionate about women’s health issues and emphasizing preventive measures to improve community health outcomes. I’m also a life-long runner, aspiring poet, optimistic gardener, wayward traveler, and unconditional dog-lover.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

I believe in the impact of the Pongo method and the role that poetry can play in healing from trauma and mental illness. The need is greater than ever to find creative, innovative ways to reach vulnerable youth in a variety of settings. I am excited to watch the organization grow!

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

I appreciate the work of so many; in particular Claudia Rankine, Margaret Atwood, and Rupi Kaur for their brave and bold expression of difficult subject matter; and Mary Oliver for Dog Songs, which reminds me that poems can also bring joy and relief.

What do you do for work?

I am a clinical social worker and substance use disorder professional. I provide therapy to teens and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, disordered eating, substance use, OCD, and personality disorders. I’ve spent my career listening to people’s stories. It is a true honor to show up every day and provide support and solutions that align with a person’s life worth living goals.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

Pongo takes a method that we clinicians use – narrative therapy – and creates a more accessible method that is expressive and empowering. We know that trauma robs youth of their story. By encouraging them to share their stories in poetry, we are allowing them to take their story back. It is such a simple and impactful method that is universally understood. I use the Pongo method with my clients and loved ones. I can’t think of a better organization to be a part of!

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet?

My favorite poet and author is Maya Angelou for her ability to express herself so openly. I also love her ability to be hopeful and yet very matter of fact in her writing.

What do you do for work?

I’m an Associate Professor of English at Belmont University in Nashville. I teach Shakespeare and social justice, and my research focuses on how literary texts bring people together.

Why does Pongo matter to you?

Writing has the power to heal us. I sometimes teach in prisons, and nearly all of my students have writing projects outside of the class that help them process their experiences.

What/who is your favorite poem and/or poet? 

Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Gate A-4” always brings me a lot of comfort. I turn to it whenever I need to be reminded of how the small things that bring us together are more powerful than the big things that drive us apart.