Register for the Autumn 2023 Edition of Ignite Pongo!

Ashley Skartvedt, MFA, CTRS/R, RYT-500

I’m Ashley Skartvedt, Co-Executive Director, Programs for Pongo Poetry Project. I’ve been affiliated with Pongo since 2013 and have served as a volunteer, mentor, trainer, and project lead. I’ve spent the majority of my career as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Yoga Instructor helping people heal from trauma by leading therapeutic groups for youth and adults in psychiatric hospitals and teaching folks how to increase their awareness of the present moment and connect their mind, body, and spirit.

As a lifelong learner, I enjoy creating a reciprocal, non-hierarchical learning environment in order to share knowledge and experiences, so we can all have a richer impact on the individuals and communities we serve. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics from the University of Washington, Bothell, and enjoy writing poetry, sharing my creative work, and uplifting the voices of others, especially those who are affected by institutional and systemic oppression. It’s important to me in all aspects of my professional and personal life to acknowledge my own position of privilege as a white-passing woman and to honor my Native American heritage as a citizen of the Tlinget and Haida Tribes of Alaska.

Nebeu Shimeles

I’m Nebeu Shimeles, Co-Executive Director of Development & Finance for Pongo Poetry Project. I’ve spent the majority of my career in nonprofit development, with over a decade of work with a diverse array of community-based organizations and individuals in service of meeting their fundraising needs and realizing their respective missions. I’ve been with Pongo since 2019, initially joining as Development Manager prior to assuming my current leadership position.

Pongo serves youth who are dealing with compounding interpersonal and systemic inequities, the foundations of which are often unaddressed trauma. These systemic inequities – whether they be institutional racism or economic precarity – are sources of trauma in and of themselves. I’m excited to support you in adopting Pongo’s methodology, because I know that sharing our effective, empathetic, and healing intervention with more youth can play a crucial role in advancing social justice.

Arlene Naganawa

I’m Arlene Naganawa. I began volunteering with Pongo in 2018 as a poetry mentor and served in 2022-23 as project lead at the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. Prior to my involvement with Pongo, I taught English Language Arts and Social Studies, grades 6-12, serving as district and department lead, curriculum developer, and mentor in public and independent schools. I also taught a six-month Pongo-inspired class at Echo Glen Children’s Center, worked as a Writer in the Schools for Seattle Arts and Lectures for several years, and taught youth classes and summer camps at Hugo House, a writing center in Seattle. In addition to working with youth, I continue my own writing and reading practice. My entire adult life has been devoted to youth; there is nothing more precious than a young person. Writing poetry with incarcerated youth is transformative for the young people and the mentors. It is often a magical experience, a bright moment in our lives that can make a lifelong impact. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Pongo community.