EXECUTIVE BOARD

President: Juli Parrish (she/her), University of Denver

Originally from: Cambria County, Pennsylvania, but I've also lived in 4 of the 8 states in our region. 

Worked in writing centers for: 15+years (11 years as an administrator)

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? Collaboration, curiosity, inquiry, discovery, and reflection.

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? I hope to learn more about the any writing centers in our region and to help foster connection and collaboration.  

Favorite/Recommended piece of media? Currently, it's the alternate-history space-race tv show For All Mankind. 

President Elect: Heather Graham (she/they), Salt Lake Community College

Originally from: Draper, UT

Worked in the writing centers for: 7+ years

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? Learning about the vast and diverse lived-experiences of the students I get to interact with. Chipping away at the status quo and challenging academic gatekeeping through supporting students. 

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? A 2-year community college/peer tutor perspective

Favorite/Recommended piece of media? Marianas Trench's "Ever After" or "Phantoms" albums. 

Outreach Coordinator: Olivia Tracy (she/her), University of Denver

Originally from: Golden, CO

Worked in Writing Centers For: 6+ years.

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? I love the possibilities writing centers create-- not just the opportunities for writers and consultants/tutors to have conversations about writing that can create space for each of their learning needs, backgrounds, and identities, but also the ways that writing centers can promote equity and access in the wider campus and community.  

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? I hope to foster connections among writing center administrators and consultants/tutors within and beyond the Rocky Mountain region. By creating opportunities for writing center folx to brainstorm together, learn from one another, and share resources and strategies, we can create more accessible and equitable writing center spaces and practices.

Favorite/Recommended piece of media? Anything by Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, and The Indigo Girls. 

Treasurer: Clint Gardner (he/him), Salt Lake Community College

Time working in writing centers: 34 years

What is your favorite part of working in writing centers?

Working with peer writing tutors and witnessing the life-changing work that they engage in.

What do you hope to bring to the RMWCA Board?

I hope to collaborate with the excellent folks on our board and in our region to continue the development of the best regional association of writing centers (ever).

Favorite/Recommended piece of media?

I’d have to say David Attenborough’s

The Living Planet. It is a bit dated, but is a stunning natural history series.

Secretary: Tara Hogan (she/they), 

I am a life-long resident of Utah, and I’ve been working in writing centers for about two years. I hope to bring the RMWCA board perspective on the greater Salt Lake area that our community writers bring to SLCC’s Community Writing Center every day. It’s the swell of those voices that I enjoy most about being part of an organization founded on the principles within the social practices of writing. I also hope to bring my own contributions to the table as a queer, neurodivergent writer that not only needs to write for everyday living, but is compelled to write in response to the human condition. I highly recommend that everyone read Colonize This!, an anthology edited by Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman, and listen to The Shape of Colour by Intervals.

Tutor Representative: Michael O'Donnell (he/him), Salt Lake Community College

Originally from: Salt Lake City, Utah

Worked in the writing centers for: 3 years

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? The Students

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? A different perspective

Favorite/Recommended piece of media ? Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

IWCA Affiliate Representative: Maureen McBride (she/her), Nevada State College

Originally from: Reno, NV

Worked in the writing centers for: 12 years

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? learning with and from students

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? WC concerns from the state of Nevada and support back to the WCs in Nevada; making connections in our region across states

Favorite/Recommended piece of media ? Jack Johnson’s “Banana Pancakes”

Web Editor: Amanda M. May (she/her), New Mexico Highlands University

STATE REPRESENTATIVES

Arizona: Nick Cenegy, University of Arizona

I currently direct the writing center at the University of Arizona's THINK TANK and coordinate other writing initiatives across campus. I'm brand new to this position. Prior to coming to Arizona, I spent several years as a writing center administrator at the Texas A&M University Writing Center. In addition to general supervisory duties at A&M's UWC, I created and led programs tailored for grad students. I have presented research at a variety of writing center and student services conferences, including several IWCA annual conferences. My sense of the RMWCA's recent activity is that there is a new (or renewed) interest in connecting writing support organizations from a variety of academic venues. I see this reflected in the 2019 joint conference with the C&W Writing Tutors Conference, as well as reflected in the revised language of the recent web redesign--i.e. "We define writing centers broadly...". I think this is a good direction and future goals for the RMWCA should further efforts to incorporate a variety of writing support communities. Since institutional structure so intimately influences the everyday operations of a writing center, it is of real and immediate benefit to encourage a robust exchange of models, ideas, and concerns about writing support administration and practice. The conversations I've had with secondary school writing center administrators, near-peer program coordinators, community writing center practitioners, and others who operate in a different context than mine, have been among the most important in helping to articulate how and why we do what we do in our center. I have the benefit of being new in my position and at my institution. Learning about other institutions and building relationships with writing support communities in the region are among my highest priorities. I see it as my responsibility to connect these groups. I have a genuine desire to understand how others have approached writing support in their contexts, and believe that such authentic interest yields valuable conversations. It can even serve as the basis for enduring relationships. My current efforts, from a university context, have already yielded burgeoning collaborations with local high schools and community colleges. By extending these nascent efforts to the broader region, I can help connect RMWCA members as well as identify writing support communities that (from my relative outsider position) appear to have not yet been invited into the conversation.

Leah Bowshier (she/her), University of Arizona

Originally from: Urbana, Ohio

Worked in writing centers for: 6+ years

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center?

I love the opportunity to collaborate with students, tutors, and administrators to support writing at all stages and learn from one another. 

What do you hope to bring to the board?

I hope to bring useful insight from a graduate assistant administrator perspective and help RMWCA support all its members, especially other graduate students. 

Favorite/recommended piece of media? 

“Small Kindnesses” by Danusha Laméris

Colorado: Emily Forcier (she/her), Colorado College

Worked in writing centers for: 3 years, tutoring in writing for 5 years 

Favorite part about working in the writing center: The variety of working with all kinds of students, assignments, and learning about different topics. I like that it keeps me on my toes in terms of how I think about myself and develop as a learner, communicator, and writer. 

What she hopes to bring to the board: I will bring my eagerness to build connections and community not only across the state of Colorado, but the RMWCA. I am excited to continue sharing RMWCA resources and providing support to writing centers in the state of Colorado. 

Favorite/recommended piece of media: Beef on Netflix starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, they make a great duo!

Idaho: Jamaica Ritter (she/her), University of Idaho 

Originally from:  I'm originally from Oroville, California

Worked in writing centers for: Eight years and counting! 

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? From my first tutoring session, I have loved being able to sit down with someone one-to-one, get to know them as an individual, and to see them gain enthusiasm, confidence, or a greater sense of clarity about the project they're working on. I really value the opportunities to learn more about the relationships between identity, language, and writing/communication processes. Working in the Writing Center, I am learning new things every day, and that feels like such a privilege.   

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? Like other Western states, Idaho has a lot of geographical distance to cover between our writing centers. As the Idaho Rep, I want to support a sense of connection with writing center colleagues through encouraging awareness of and engagement with RMWCA. 

Favorite/Recommended piece of media? Like Amy Ratto-Parks, the Montana Rep, I am loving Reservation Dogs! I'm also reading Twenty Lines a Day, by Harry Matthews, which inspires me to write my own twenty lines each day too. 

Montana: Amy Ratto-Parks,  University of Montana 

Originally from: Cincinnati, Ohio

Worked in the writing centers for: Since December 2020

What is your favorite part about working for a writing center? I’m energized by my colleagues’ curiosity and excitement about exploring the challenges of thinking and writing -- and I love the absolute variety of the work.

What do you hope to bring to your position on the RMWCA board? I hope to help build connection and conversation between our various programs.

Favorite/Recommended piece of media ? I am currently in love with the show Reservation Dogs!

Nevada: Erin Zimmerman (she/her), University of Nevada-Las Vegas

I'm originally from North Carolina, but I've also lived in New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Beirut, Lebanon.

I have worked in writing centers for eight years: three as a tutor and five as an administrator.

I want to build more community among the writing centers in Nevada.

I have far too many favorite books, shows, and movies to recommend one. I did recently discover Kindle's Reading Insights, which tracks my reading for me. I will say that I get very competitive with myself, so I enjoy watching my reading streaks. My best daily streak to date is 73 days in a row.

New Mexico: Amanda M. May (she/her), New Mexico Highlands University 

Utah: Matt Whitaker, Utah State University

Wyoming: Makayla Kocher (she/her), University of Wyoming

Originally From: Monument, Colorado

Time working in writing centers: So far 2 years as an undergraduate and professional tutor.

What is your favorite part of working in writing centers: Since I began working in writing centers during my junior year of undergraduate, I fell in love with the environment, people, and opportunities. One of my favorite parts about working in writing centers is the chance to work with students across the disciplines. I have also been passionate about inter-/trans-disciplinary studies, so for me working in a writing center gives me the opportunity to experience the many disciplines students study. I also enjoy the community and learning that continually occurs in centers.

What do you hope to bring to the RMWCA Board? As a member of the board, I hope to bring a fresh set of eyes and ideas that can continue to foster writing center collaboration, tutor involvement, and innovative approaches to tutoring. For my state, I hope to be a voice for the writing centers across Wyoming. I aim to foster unity and communications across the writing centers in Wyoming.

Favorite/Recommended piece of media? This is a tough question as I have many favorites when it comes to books. I would say my two favorite classics are Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and the Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas. I am also a huge fan of YA literature and books such as Kate Harris’s Lands of Lost Borders.