is an artist and educator who teaches at Village Elementary in Hilton. He moved to Rochester after acquiring his Master of Education at Monmouth University in his home state of New Jersey.
graduated from Goucher College in 2015 with a degree in Creative Writing, and has a Master's degree in Inclusive Adolescent Education from Nazareth University. She works at Council Rock Primary School as a second grade Teaching Assistant. When she’s not playing tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, she usually can be found reading a book.
seeks the sweet intersection of brevity and meaning. She teaches creative writing at Rochester Institute of Technology and bookbinding at Flower City Arts Center. Her stories, artists’ books, and poems are found in print and online. www.michaelachan.com
is a writer, puppeteer, teacher, and student. She writes poetry, fiction, and papers on literacy, creativity and social justice. While working on her EdD in Teaching and Curriculum at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester, she is conducting research using anti-racist methodologies to support initiatives that seek equitable access to education for all. Her idea of a perfect day is collaborating creatively with friends (of all ages), writing, or imagining ways to make the world better.
Deputy Director, began his career at Writers & Books as an intern in 2005 while attending St. John Fisher University. A key contributor to developing SummerWrite’s Academy for Young Magicals (formerly Hogwarts Academy) program in 2016, he enjoys fostering confidence and creativity in children and draws experience from his roles as a former camp counselor, preschool teacher aide, and literary teaching artist. Chris currently leads the Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association and also serves on the board of St. Peter's Community Arts Academy in Geneva.
is a national award-winning journalist, essayist, and author. Her books include the celebrity-endorsed children’s ABC/poetry book M is for Mindful, the guidebook 100 Things To Do In Rochester Before You Die, the inspirational book club pick Climbing Out: An Adventure in Rediscovering Life After Loss, and the forthcoming Secret Rochester: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. A newsroom beat reporter for eleven years, Robin now freelances for magazines, newspapers, and marketing materials. One of her most mindful moments was atop Mount Kilimanjaro, where she saw the curvature of the earth at sunrise. Learn more at www.mindfulkidsthrive.com and www.thekineticpen.com.
spent over twenty years as a professional screenwriter in Los Angeles. He has worked with major studios like MGM, Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers and Miramax along with a slew of independent studios and production companies. His adaptation of “Fat Kid Rules the World” with writing partner Peter Speakman won the audience award at the 2012 SXSW film festival. Galvin is also the co-author of the “Rebels of the Lamp” series of middle-grade novels on Disney’s Hyperion imprint. There is a Post-It note on his refrigerator that asks ‘Why aren’t you writing?’
recently retired from a 33-year career teaching middle school in the Penfield Central School District, including over 20 years as a Gifted Education specialist. She has presented at national, state, and local conferences on topics ranging from teaching creativity to challenging high ability readers in the classroom. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Rochester. Karen is also an amateur baker, hoarder of cookbooks, and a recently-converted cat lover.
is a creative director and multidisciplinary artist passionate about celebrating human stories in ways that foster conversations. Millie has 10+ years of experience within creative, educational, and social justice non-profits, notably RHINO Poetry, Victory Gardens Theater, Lookingglass Theatre Company, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Northwestern University, Chicago HOPES, and Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam. She is a John F. Kennedy Center Directing alum, as well as the co-founder, artistic director, production director, and playwright of FRAGMENTS Theatre based in Vietnam. Learn more about Millie's freelance work at flowersandfilm.com.
has over 40 years of experience in making creative writing enjoyable and vital to beginning writers and in helping writers at all levels improve their craft. Her poems, stories, and essays have been published in Breaking the Silence, Desperate Acts, HazMat Review, Democrat and Chronicle, Poems on Wheels, Rochester Woman, Rochester’s “The Poet’s Walk,” and elsewhere. Her poems and plays have been performed on local stages. A former college English instructor and the former Director of Education at Writers & Books, she currently teaches, coaches, and edits freelance.
is a published documentary, editorial, and event photographer and an award-winning documentary filmmaker who centers the stories of Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples She's a community-engaged filmmaker who believes that you cannot share stories of Black, Brown, and Indigenous Peoples without also being in community and in solidarity with them. She splits her time between visual storytelling through her two businesses—Jackie Photography and Our Voices Project LLC —getting lost (on purpose) with her camera on photowalks, building community, and watching movies.
is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. As an undergraduate, she majored in Psychology and English, which created the perfect nexus between her interest in people and stories. She is committed to promoting social-emotional learning through teaching—in therapy sessions, classrooms and workshops. intentionalliving-counseling.com
is a queer Dominican-American fiction writer born and raised in New York City, currently living in Rochester. She holds a Bachelors degree in creative writing from the State University of New York at Purchase College and is a past recipient of a Walter Dean Myers Grant from We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel What’s Coming to Me (Soho Teen, 2022) has been recognized as a Junior Library Guild selection and a Best Teen/YA Book of 2022 by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. By day, she also works in health and human services.
a native of Rochester, NY, is a classically trained cellist who plays experimental and contemporary music, and whose teaching career started at age 14. Since then she has worked privately with students ages 3 to 90, beginner through college level, and led groups in chamber music, improvisation, cross-arts, and string orchestra, and inevery lesson considers the question: “What does this student need?” Baker has a Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor’s from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. Baker is researching interdisciplinary composition and team collaboration to build a college curriculum in interdisciplinary facilitation and performance art. In addition to performing arts, Esther loves the dirt: hiking, gardening, and trail running!
is an artist, writer, musician, published author, and community advocate who uses any given combination of creative avenues and mediums to contribute to various initiatives and projects locally and beyond. By way of New York City, he grew up in Rochester and became self-taught in his endeavors – reveling in authentic expression and promoting ideals of audacity and perseverance felt in his paintings, poetry, and songs. As a community advocate, Taurus lends his voice to social justice calls to action and draws from lived experiences to effect equitable change among the most marginalized. He currently is in his sixth year of teaching artistry as the Resident Poet for Flower City Arts Center’s Studio 678 Photo Club youth after-school program.
is an actress, director, producer, and teacher who has been leading classes and camps at Writers & Books for over a dozen years. A proud member of Labyrinth Theatre Company in New York City, she works locally at Blackfriars Theatre, Geva Theatre, and The JCC Centerstage. She has worked as an actress in New York City at The Public Theatre, SoHo Rep, and PS 122; with the Royal Shakespeare Company of London; and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Alexa is a senior lecturer in the School of Performing Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology; serves on the Rochester Fringe Festival’s Board of Directors; and is an ensemble member of Impact Interactive LLC, a unique theater-based training company in Rochester.
is a writer and the Executive Director of Writers & Books who loves helping young people tell bold, imaginative stories and believes everyone has a story worth sharing. He is the author of Deficient, a young adult science-fiction novel that explores power, identity, and belonging. Before coming to Writers & Books, Michael worked around the world in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, inspiring many of the characters and worlds in his writing. He is an active member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, where he co-chairs the Middle Grade & Young Adult Committee. In his workshops, Michael encourages writers to take risks, trust their imaginations, and have fun with words.
is a writer and teaching artist with an MFA from Ohio University. Her plays have been performed in eight states, and locally were featured in Geva Theatre’s Regional Writers Showcase, the Rochester Fringe Festival, and Writers & Books’ 2 Pages/2 Voices festival. Her arts journalism has been published in the Democrat & Chronicle and Rochester City News. She has taught playwriting at RIT/NTID, where she also works as a real time captionist. Katherine is a former SummerWrite Coordinator and loves witnessing the creativity of SummerWrite campers.
is an Art Educator with a speciality in both kids and adults puppetry. He teaches students in art classes and ELA students throughout Rochester. His work and student samples are often on view at the Memorial Art Gallery’s Creative Workshops or in the Gallery Store. Simmi has worked with both the Calgary Animated Objects Society and Bread and Puppet on puppet shows and is currently teaching STEM lessons through puppetry as a recipient of The City of Rochester's ArtsBloom Grant. Currently, he is working on his Ed.M. in Art Education at the University of Illinois.
is an artist and illustrator with degrees in Fine Art and Illustration from Monroe Community College and SUNY Brockport. Her work infuses personal iconography to create whimsical, surreal realms with the aim of bringing her audience back to a childhood feeling that allows them to dream about possibility. She has aspirations of working as a children's book illustrator. Her murals can be seen at Bookeater and in the student lounge at Monroe Community College.
is a Rochester-based writer, teaching artist, and arts administrator. She received a BA in Creative Writing from Purchase College, a certificate through the Teaching Artist Institute of Rochester, and has completed the NYFA Artist as Entrepreneurs Program. She actively teaches creative workshops through libraries, homeschool co-ops, and nonprofit organizations. She is passionate about creating brave spaces for people of all ages to share their stories. In 2024, she received an individual artist grant from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts to produce her original play, My Medea, in Rochester, New York. Her short fiction has been published in a handful of literary magazines, including Prime Number Magazine and The Roadrunner Review, among others.
* These Teaching Artists have completed training with the Teaching Artist Institute of Rochester.
