Wild Vine Writers is a group of women writers in Livermore, California who meet monthly at each other's homes. I started this group a dozen years ago; we've gone through a number of changes, but three of the original members are still part of this group. Some of us write for publication, and some of us write for other reasons. We just published an anthology, Two Truths and a Lie: As We See It. The proceeds from this book goes to the Connie Clark Memorial Scholarship at Chabot college.
A few years ago, we published a collection of 100-word stories called Long Stories Short. (Available on Amazon.) The proceeds of all the sales were used to purchase books for children who find themselves at the Tri-Valley Haven, a haven from domestic violence. http://www.trivalleyhaven.org/
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First day of epic Haleakala hike.
A.J. Hershman and I are collaborating providing writing workshops to assist her clients to work on their personal histories, one of the therapeutic requirements of the Talbot Youth Home in Missoula, Montana. The Amherst Writers & Artist method is uniquely suited to support expressive and healing writing. Despite experiencing a raft of tech issues, we formed an effective writing community via Zoom. Working with A.J. (a gifted therapist and my niece) has been the highlight of this time of sheltering in place.
“We can either live with clenched fists or open hands.” Trevor Hudson
For the past three autumns, I’ve provided workshops for personal statements for college applications. The series included three whole-group workshops and one-on-one coaching (digital and face-to-face) to students from Livermore High School, my last teaching post. My clientele are first generation and low-income students; I do not charge the school or the students for this service.
During January and February of 2019, my colleague, Tom O’Hara , and I provided 20 West High School (Tracy, California) a 6-part workshop series designed to help them practice for the SAT essay. We taught the students how to approach the reading & writing task, and we provided feedback on several practice essays. Because we wanted to help level the playing field just a tad, we didn’t charge these low-income students or the school.
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Amherst Writers and Artists is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “to support the voices of established and emerging writers, to free silenced and marginalized voices, and to promote respect for the artist in all writers through the use of the AWA method, developed by Pat Schneider and described in her book, Writing Alone and With Others.” I’m delighted to be on the AWA Board. We’re doing great work. Check us out!
Great Valley Writing Project (GVWP) is a chapter of the National Writing Project (NWP). I've been a Teacher Consultant with the GVWP since 2004. I lead workshops and facilitate lesson studies with classroom teachers.
I am a certified California State University (CSU) Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC) trainer. This CSU curriculum/approach is designed to help students become college ready. I provide workshops demonstrating how to use the curriculum.