Staff
Managing Director Johnpaul Higgins
Johnpaul Higgins, Managing Director, is a graduate of Kent State University and an alumnus of the Wick Poetry Center. Intimately familiar with the administrative aspects of a poetry program, he has chaired celebratory event committees, planned and implemented reading series, workshops, book fairs, annual competitions and gala receptions. Formerly the Program Facilitator and Development Director for the Poetry Center, he has a thorough, working knowledge of the organization and a firm grounding in non-profit fundraising and management.
Hands on Stanzas Program Director Cecilia Pinto
Cecilia Pinto has an eleven year relationship with The Poetry Center as a Poet in Residence. Prior to her current role as Director of the Hands on Stanzas program she was Program Coordinator for Words@Play, an after-school writing program which received the Presidential Coming Up Taller Award in 2009. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications including Esquire, Fence, Diagram, and TriQuarterly. Her poetry appears in the following collections, ‘Billet Doux' (Dancing Girl Press), ‘The City Visible: Chicago Poets for the New Century' (Cracked Slab Books), ‘A Writer's Congress' (The DePaul Poetry Institute) and with her writing partner, Alice George, in ‘Saints of Hysteria, a Half Century of Collaborative American Poetry' (Soft Skull Press) She has a masters degree in creative writing from The School of the Art Institute and teaching associations with several other Chicago institutions.
Programs Assistant Jem Hilton
Jem Hilton recently received his MA in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has volunteered at Poetry Center events over the past ten years, and has a passion for helping non-profit organizations. In addition to his work at the Poetry Center, Jem teaches philosophy and religious studies at the college level. In his free time Jem enjoys building and breaking computers, starting novels, and driving around the Midwest.
Board of Directors
President Arica Hilton
Vice President Henry Sampson
Treasurer Don Chatham
Directors Amelia Burford Calvin Forbes Jessica Keller Sara Levine Jim Morrin Nicole Pisani
Directors Emeritus Dr. Jacob Brody David Fink John Rezek
Advisory Board Michael Anania Dan Beachy-Quick Ray Bianchi Pamela Crutchfield Richard Fammeree Marie M. Hayes Paul Hoover Li-Young Lee Lisel Mueller Charlotte Newberger Elise Paschen Anna Perlberg Amy Krouse Rosenthal Allen M. Turner
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