Writing Instruction and Coaching
Skills
• Creative Writing
• Poetry
• Remote Teaching
• Creative Nonfiction
• Curriculum Development
• Teaching in Alternative Spaces
• Teaching English as a Foreign Language
• Objective & Subjective Assessment
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Poetry and Creative Nonfiction
Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA
Bachelor of Science, Business Management and Organization
Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN
Publications
Book
The Light on the Wall, full-length poetry collection, Main Street Rag, 2016.
Individual Poems
“Shoulda Kept It Running,” Slipstream, forthcoming.
“Dress Code,” Switchback, forthcoming.
“Free Will,” “On the Morning of Our Third Anniversary,” Voices from the Attic, forthcoming.
“Nesting,” The Stillwater Review, June 2019.
“Spill,” “White Morning,” Voices from the Attic, November 2018.
“Fern Hollow Creek,” “Mountain Split,” The Fourth River, November 2018.
“Naming It,” Pittsburgh Quarterly, July 24, 2018.
“It's True I Want the Splintering,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 2018.
“Braddock Trail, Late September,” “The Scribes,” Voices from the Attic, October 2017.
“A Girl Named Hang, Which Means Moon,” “Lemon Sun,” Unconditional Surrender: An Anthology of Love Poems,” Low Ghost Press, September 2017.
“Ten Things That Seem Important,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 13, 2017.
“Anxiety,” The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, podcast, March 5, 2017.
“Datsun Hatchback with the Windows Rolled Down,” “Waiting for Stars in the Clinging Light,” Chiron Review, November 2016.
Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “In the market, under full sun,” Whiskey Island, November 2016.
“On a Night So Beautiful,” Voices from the Attic, November 2016.
“Thai Massage in Thin Pajamas,” Uppagus, October 2016.
“How to Dance the Box Step,” “Superman and Wonder Woman,” Nerve Cowboy, October 2016.
“Lemon Sun,” Pittsburgh City Paper, July 27, 2016.
“My Father Hates Hippies,” “Our Mother Drove Barefoot,” Nerve Cowboy, April 2016.
“The Magic Tree and Killing Tree,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “An elderly woman sits down,” The MacGuffin, March 2016.
“The Rescue,” Pittsburgh Poetry Review, March 2016.
“Arriving in Bangkok,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “A stick of a tree,” Lilliput Review, April 2015.
“Japanese Laceleaf Maple,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2015.
“Bed Sheets,” “Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony,” Words without Walls: Writers on Addiction, Violence, and Incarceration, January 2015.
“How to Catch a Baby Elephant,” “The Kind Young Man with the Shy Smile,” “Here Are Their Names,” Anomalous Press, November 2014.
“The Flight Home,” THEthe Poetry, October 2014.
“A Is For Anxiety,” “Years Later Our Mother Disappears, “This Is What I Remember,” “The Truth of Expatriate Rebellion,” Puff Puff Poetry, Prose and a Play, July 2014.
“Regarding Waiting,” Grey Sparrow, June 2014.
“Ghazal for the Shrine Gods,” “Auditory Hallucinations,” Pretty Owl Poetry, June 2014.
“Bed Sheets,” The Poet’s Billow, May 2014.
“Awakening in a Lightning Storm,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “Under the mai yang trees,” Anak Sastra, May 2014.
Awards and Recognitions
• Public Poetry Project honoree, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, 2018.
• Finalist, Main Street Rag Poetry Book Contest, 2016.
• Semi-finalist, Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, 2015.
• Finalist, The Poet’s Billow Bermuda Triangle Prize, 2014.
• 3rd Place, George Scarbrough Prize, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, 2014.
• Community Advocate Award, Chatham University, 2014.
• Best Poetry Thesis, Chatham University, 2014.
Select Readings and Workshops
• Betty June Silconas Poetry Festival | Sussex County Community College | June 8th, 2019. Conducted a workshop titled “Your Poetry Toolbox: Music, Image, Story and Voice.”
• SUNY Genesee Community College Creative Writing Club | April 12th, 2019. Met with writing students and faculty members to discuss the writing process.
• Schubert on the Bluff | Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University | April 15th, 2018. At the invitation of Pittsburgh Song Collaborative, wrote and recited poetry in response to Franz Schubert and Wilhelm Müller’s song cycle Winterreise.
• Pennsylvania Center for the Book Public Poetry Project Reading | Penn State University | March 28th, 2018. Excerpt available at ------------/watch?v=KGQvLf2w1LM.
Work Experience
VIPKID | Remotely from Pittsburgh, PA | March 2019 – Present
English Teacher
• Teach one-on-one online English lessons to Chinese children aged 4-14 using a Common Core curriculum.
• Methodology emphasizes TPR (Total Physical Response), scaffolding and extension.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | June – August 2019
Instructor
• Designed and taught a five-week class titled “Contemporary American Poetry,” which focused on poetry published in the last 30 years.
• Provided lectures on poetry craft and facilitated group discussions.
HCL Technologies, Assigned to Google | Pittsburgh, PA | December 2014 – November 2018
Lead Trainer (August 2015 – November 2018)
• Created a core curriculum for new hires to learn an internal coding language and team procedures.
• Implemented a training and assessment system in a new offshore location.
• Developed a 2nd level audit system to ensure accuracy of one of the team’s key quality metrics.
Senior Analyst (December 2014 – August 2015)
Continuation of previous post on the Google Shopping team, as HCL became the project's employment vendor.
Randstad USA, Assigned to Google | Pittsburgh, PA | June 2014 – November 2014
Browse Ops Specialist
• Researched product groups and identified key characteristics for the Google Shopping user interface.
• Wrote product characteristic descriptions to convey the concepts to human labelers.
• Coded in an internal programming language to tag products with the previously identified characteristics.
Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | January 2013 – April 2014
Words Without Walls Teacher and Student Coordinator
• Planned and taught multi-genre creative writing classes for inmates in the Allegheny County Jail.
• Provided writing prompts and facilitated feedback exchange for a weekly community workshop.
ECC | Tokyo, Japan | November 2008 – March 2012
Native English Teacher
• Taught English as a Foreign Language to children and adults.
• Teaching settings included high school and university classrooms, private and small group lessons, onsite corporate classes, and kindergartens.
Volunteer Experience
• Bridge Reading Series | Pittsburgh, PA | February 2017 – Present
Assist with planning and organizing a literary reading series that strives to unite the literary and activist communities in Pittsburgh.
• Mad Women in the Attic, Carlow University | Pittsburgh, PA | September 2018 – April 2019
Met regularly with a writing class enrollee to provide feedback on her writing and mentorship.
• The Fourth River, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | October 2018 – March 2019
Screened submissions for themed segments of The Fourth River literary journal.
• W.R.A.P. Mentorship Program, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | September – December 2015
Met regularly with a first-year undergraduate student to provide guidance and encouragement.
• Pittsburgh Job Corps Poetry Club | Pittsburgh, PA | January – June 2015
Co-taught a weekly poetry club and helped organize literary field trips.
• Conversation Partner Program, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | May – July 2014
Met weekly with international students to facilitate English conversation practice.
• Literary Arts Boom (L.A.B.) | Pittsburgh, PA | October 2012 – May 2013
Organized poetry workshops and assisted with group story-telling workshops for young people.
Skills
• Creative Writing
• Poetry
• Remote Teaching
• Creative Nonfiction
• Curriculum Development
• Teaching in Alternative Spaces
• Teaching English as a Foreign Language
• Objective & Subjective Assessment
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Poetry and Creative Nonfiction
Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA
Bachelor of Science, Business Management and Organization
Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN
Publications
Book
The Light on the Wall, full-length poetry collection, Main Street Rag, 2016.
Individual Poems
“Shoulda Kept It Running,” Slipstream, forthcoming.
“Dress Code,” Switchback, forthcoming.
“Free Will,” “On the Morning of Our Third Anniversary,” Voices from the Attic, forthcoming.
“Nesting,” The Stillwater Review, June 2019.
“Spill,” “White Morning,” Voices from the Attic, November 2018.
“Fern Hollow Creek,” “Mountain Split,” The Fourth River, November 2018.
“Naming It,” Pittsburgh Quarterly, July 24, 2018.
“It's True I Want the Splintering,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 2018.
“Braddock Trail, Late September,” “The Scribes,” Voices from the Attic, October 2017.
“A Girl Named Hang, Which Means Moon,” “Lemon Sun,” Unconditional Surrender: An Anthology of Love Poems,” Low Ghost Press, September 2017.
“Ten Things That Seem Important,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 13, 2017.
“Anxiety,” The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, podcast, March 5, 2017.
“Datsun Hatchback with the Windows Rolled Down,” “Waiting for Stars in the Clinging Light,” Chiron Review, November 2016.
Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “In the market, under full sun,” Whiskey Island, November 2016.
“On a Night So Beautiful,” Voices from the Attic, November 2016.
“Thai Massage in Thin Pajamas,” Uppagus, October 2016.
“How to Dance the Box Step,” “Superman and Wonder Woman,” Nerve Cowboy, October 2016.
“Lemon Sun,” Pittsburgh City Paper, July 27, 2016.
“My Father Hates Hippies,” “Our Mother Drove Barefoot,” Nerve Cowboy, April 2016.
“The Magic Tree and Killing Tree,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “An elderly woman sits down,” The MacGuffin, March 2016.
“The Rescue,” Pittsburgh Poetry Review, March 2016.
“Arriving in Bangkok,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “A stick of a tree,” Lilliput Review, April 2015.
“Japanese Laceleaf Maple,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2015.
“Bed Sheets,” “Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony,” Words without Walls: Writers on Addiction, Violence, and Incarceration, January 2015.
“How to Catch a Baby Elephant,” “The Kind Young Man with the Shy Smile,” “Here Are Their Names,” Anomalous Press, November 2014.
“The Flight Home,” THEthe Poetry, October 2014.
“A Is For Anxiety,” “Years Later Our Mother Disappears, “This Is What I Remember,” “The Truth of Expatriate Rebellion,” Puff Puff Poetry, Prose and a Play, July 2014.
“Regarding Waiting,” Grey Sparrow, June 2014.
“Ghazal for the Shrine Gods,” “Auditory Hallucinations,” Pretty Owl Poetry, June 2014.
“Bed Sheets,” The Poet’s Billow, May 2014.
“Awakening in a Lightning Storm,” Excerpt from “Notebooks” beginning “Under the mai yang trees,” Anak Sastra, May 2014.
Awards and Recognitions
• Public Poetry Project honoree, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, 2018.
• Finalist, Main Street Rag Poetry Book Contest, 2016.
• Semi-finalist, Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, 2015.
• Finalist, The Poet’s Billow Bermuda Triangle Prize, 2014.
• 3rd Place, George Scarbrough Prize, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, 2014.
• Community Advocate Award, Chatham University, 2014.
• Best Poetry Thesis, Chatham University, 2014.
Select Readings and Workshops
• Betty June Silconas Poetry Festival | Sussex County Community College | June 8th, 2019. Conducted a workshop titled “Your Poetry Toolbox: Music, Image, Story and Voice.”
• SUNY Genesee Community College Creative Writing Club | April 12th, 2019. Met with writing students and faculty members to discuss the writing process.
• Schubert on the Bluff | Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University | April 15th, 2018. At the invitation of Pittsburgh Song Collaborative, wrote and recited poetry in response to Franz Schubert and Wilhelm Müller’s song cycle Winterreise.
• Pennsylvania Center for the Book Public Poetry Project Reading | Penn State University | March 28th, 2018. Excerpt available at ------------/watch?v=KGQvLf2w1LM.
Work Experience
VIPKID | Remotely from Pittsburgh, PA | March 2019 – Present
English Teacher
• Teach one-on-one online English lessons to Chinese children aged 4-14 using a Common Core curriculum.
• Methodology emphasizes TPR (Total Physical Response), scaffolding and extension.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | June – August 2019
Instructor
• Designed and taught a five-week class titled “Contemporary American Poetry,” which focused on poetry published in the last 30 years.
• Provided lectures on poetry craft and facilitated group discussions.
HCL Technologies, Assigned to Google | Pittsburgh, PA | December 2014 – November 2018
Lead Trainer (August 2015 – November 2018)
• Created a core curriculum for new hires to learn an internal coding language and team procedures.
• Implemented a training and assessment system in a new offshore location.
• Developed a 2nd level audit system to ensure accuracy of one of the team’s key quality metrics.
Senior Analyst (December 2014 – August 2015)
Continuation of previous post on the Google Shopping team, as HCL became the project's employment vendor.
Randstad USA, Assigned to Google | Pittsburgh, PA | June 2014 – November 2014
Browse Ops Specialist
• Researched product groups and identified key characteristics for the Google Shopping user interface.
• Wrote product characteristic descriptions to convey the concepts to human labelers.
• Coded in an internal programming language to tag products with the previously identified characteristics.
Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | January 2013 – April 2014
Words Without Walls Teacher and Student Coordinator
• Planned and taught multi-genre creative writing classes for inmates in the Allegheny County Jail.
• Provided writing prompts and facilitated feedback exchange for a weekly community workshop.
ECC | Tokyo, Japan | November 2008 – March 2012
Native English Teacher
• Taught English as a Foreign Language to children and adults.
• Teaching settings included high school and university classrooms, private and small group lessons, onsite corporate classes, and kindergartens.
Volunteer Experience
• Bridge Reading Series | Pittsburgh, PA | February 2017 – Present
Assist with planning and organizing a literary reading series that strives to unite the literary and activist communities in Pittsburgh.
• Mad Women in the Attic, Carlow University | Pittsburgh, PA | September 2018 – April 2019
Met regularly with a writing class enrollee to provide feedback on her writing and mentorship.
• The Fourth River, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | October 2018 – March 2019
Screened submissions for themed segments of The Fourth River literary journal.
• W.R.A.P. Mentorship Program, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | September – December 2015
Met regularly with a first-year undergraduate student to provide guidance and encouragement.
• Pittsburgh Job Corps Poetry Club | Pittsburgh, PA | January – June 2015
Co-taught a weekly poetry club and helped organize literary field trips.
• Conversation Partner Program, Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | May – July 2014
Met weekly with international students to facilitate English conversation practice.
• Literary Arts Boom (L.A.B.) | Pittsburgh, PA | October 2012 – May 2013
Organized poetry workshops and assisted with group story-telling workshops for young people.