Interested in building the writing skills of teens? Do a year of service with WriteBoston and help foster the next generation of writers and journalists.
Apply to serve as a Commonwealth Corps Youth Program Associate for our Teens in Print youth journalism program.
WriteBoston is always looking for dedicated educators to join our team. If you are interested in our work and would like to join our team, please contact Sarah Poulter with a resume.
Jasmine Heyward
Senior Associate, Teens in Print
jasmineheyward@writeboston.org
Jasmine joins WriteBoston after earning a journalism degree at Northeastern University. During her studies, she fell in love with working with students, volunteering with Generation Citizen, Let’s Get Ready, the Boston Debate League, and more. She serves as Teens in Print’s Senior Associate, developing TiP’s programming, editing the newspaper, and mentoring students. Jasmine’s journalism background includes bylines with Boston.com, The Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor. When she’s not at work, she enjoys playing video games, watching cooking shows, and new international foods.
Liberty grew up on a small chicken and goat farm in in North Carolina. She moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University and graduated with a B.A. in Human Services. To her own surprise, she grew to love Boston and learned to tolerate the winter. As an avid reader, she’s always cherished good writing and has acted as an editor for the better part of her life. She finds joy in encouraging others to embrace their unique voices and gain confidence in their prose.
Prior to WriteBoston, Liberty worked at two other nonprofits in greater Boston, as a freelance editor, and at two flower shops. Liberty is a serial book and plant collector and in her free time, can be found reading a good novel, baking, or tending to her growing collection of house plants.
Carla Gualdron
Program Director, Teens in Print
carlagualdron@writeboston.org
617.541.2635
Carla’s story with WriteBoston is a quintessential one of things coming full circle. As a sophomore at the former Media Communication Technology High School in West Roxbury, she joined the Teens in Print newspaper as a staff writer. It was there that she got her first taste of ink. That feeling of accomplishment in seeing her name in print sent her on a quest to become to journalist. A Boston native, Carla stayed local and attended Emerson College where she earned her degree in print journalism. Since then, Carla has quenched her thirst for bylines through the Boston Herald, El Mundo newspaper, and The Enterprise. In 2016 Carla returned to Teens in Print as the Program Director, hoping to inspire budding cub reporters.
David Andrade
Recruitment Coordinator, Commonwealth Corps
davidandrade@writeboston.org
David grew up in Jamaica Plain and attended Boston Public Schools his entire childhood (JFK, Curley, English). He graduated from Bunker Hill Community College with an Associate’s in Criminal Justice and currently attends Northeastern University, where he is in pursuit of his bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Previously, David has worked with Bank Of America, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Barkham Management, and the New England Aquarium. Some of David’s life goals are to run the Boston Marathon, create a scholarship program that send 10,00 high school students to college for free, and to become his mom’s favorite child. David’s favorite things in the world include his best friend Julio, food, NBA 2K (the latest version), and helping people realize their true potential. David is an avid fan of the NBA and Malcolm Gladwell books. He is a firm believer that the Migos are greater than The Beatles, and that the Earth is the shape of a sphere.
Sarah Robbins
College & Career Readiness Coordinator, Commonwealth Corps
sarahrobbins@writeboston.org
617.541.2628
Sarah is excited to join TiP as their first ever College and Career Readiness Coordinator! Her role will consist of supporting students through the application and essay writing process. Before joining TiP, she graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in English–and then moved to Boston to work as an AmeriCorps in a sixth grade classroom.There she discovered a passion for helping students find their own voice in fiction, poetry, and prose. This year, she hopes to help students feel less overwhelmed with college applications and write the college essay of their dreams. In her free time she enjoys wandering around Boston, reading poetry, and encouraging people to read The Lightning Thief.
Liz Leidel
Writing and Instructional Coach
lizleidel@writeboston.org
Before coming to WriteBoston, Liz was a high school history teacher for seven years in Worcester, MA, where she was also the Mentor Coordinator. She has also taught at the middle school level and was on the leadership team at a school in Springfield, MA, in its second year of turnaround. She loves talking with teachers about their craft and she loves hearing from students about their learning. As a teacher and coach, she focuses on instilling the kind of reflection and problem-solving that leads to life-long learning and growth. She has worked with educators at all stages of their careers and in all subject matters. No matter what grade, level or content, Liz believes every teacher is a teacher of literacy. She and her partner, who is also an educator, love to read and explore with their two children and together, they think a lot about story-telling, play, and the things that children need in order to grow into confident and compassionate young adults.
Kelly Knopf-Goldner
Writing and Instructional Coach
kellyknopf-goldner@writeboston.org
617.541.2665
Kelly’s 25 years in education—as a teacher and coach—have all been dedicated to uncovering the writer and reader in every student. Whatever a child’s passion, she believes strong communication skills will ensure they achieve it. She also believes in the necessity of literacy to make sure young people enter the world beyond school as informed, critically thinking citizens. Kelly has taught in private and public schools, coached teachers in and around Boston, and edited and published teen writers at TeenVoices Magazine and Boston Teens in Print. She has been at WriteBoston since 2003, aside from a recent stint back in the classroom. She’s a book junkie and with her family loves to cook, hike, camp, and watch old comedies.
Anne Shackleford
Director of Development and Communications
anneshackleford@writeboston.org
617.541.2663
Anne Shackleford joined WriteBoston in 2012 and manages the organization’s communications, grant writing, and fundraising. (If you call the office, you’re also most likely to hear her voice.) Prior to coming to WriteBoston, she lived in Providence, RI, where she amassed an impressive collection of art created by other people’s children from working in communications and development at a youth arts organization. Before that, she spent two years working one-on-one with college students as a writing center tutor: helping freshman football stars navigate their first college essay to working with international graduate students as they express the minutia of turf grass science. The experience of working closely with other writers—talking and thinking about the writing process—gave her a deep appreciation of how writing can push real reflection and growth in thinking. Anne is a proud alumna of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, having served two years. She graduated summa cum laude from the Ohio State University with a BA in English and minors in professional writing and business. She’s inspired by great theater, weird art, and the amazing perspectives and voices of young people.
Alyssa Vaughn
Teens in Print Editorial & Content Manager
alyssavaughn@writeboston.org
617.541.2650
Alyssa Vaughn joined WriteBoston in 2017 as the AmeriCorps VISTA for the Teens in Print program, and has since supported the program’s special initiatives, overseen the newspaper’s publication cycle, and managed the brand’s marketing and social media strategies. She currently serves as the program’s Editorial and Content Manager, developing and maintaining Teens in Print’s journalism curriculum. Her approach to her role is informed by her past experiences in journalism at Boston and St. Louis magazines and in youth development at Brighton, MA’s Another Course to College. She holds a degree in English from Boston College.
Alex Georgiadis
Writing Center Coordinator, Boston International High School
alexgeorgiadis@writeboston.org
617.541.2626
Alex is thrilled to join the WriteBoston team as the Writing Center Coordinator at Boston International Newcomers Academy! After graduating from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Public Policy and Spanish, Alex braved the move up to New England, despite warnings from well-meaning relatives about the unbearable winters. She spent the past year serving as an AmeriCorps member at Lynn Classical High School, where she supported English Language Learners in Algebra and Biology classrooms. The role that brought her real joy, however, was developing an English conversation group after school where students debated the merits of various pro-soccer players, listened to pop songs, and played many, many rounds of “trashketball” over the course of the year. Alex is passionate about advocating for her students and providing holistic support to help them thrive in their academic and personal lives. Outside of the classroom, Alex enjoys running along the Charles, hiking, and following golden retriever accounts on Instagram.
Jessie Gerson
Co-Director
jessiegerson@writeboston.org
617.541.2664
Jessie’s previous work has included serving as the Literacy Director for McCormack Middle School in Dorchester, MA, and directing the Oakland Practitioner Teacher Training Program in Oakland, California. She started her career as a middle school English and Social Studies teacher, and has worked as a coach and consultant with district and charter schools, helping to train new and experienced teachers and strengthen building-wide literacy practices. She earned her Masters in Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies from Stanford University and her Masters of Arts in Teaching from the University of Louisville, Kentucky.
Sarah Poulter
Co-Director
sarahpoulter@writeboston.org
617.541.2631
A native Oregonian, Sarah moved to Boston for love in Y2K (despite the hype, the world didn’t come to an end) and hasn’t looked back. While she remains curious about the many career possibilities left unexplored – professional sewist, craft blogger, face painter, fabric designer – her passion for education is fueled by the insatiable curiosity of her two children and her husband, the dedicated middle school teacher who convinced her to pack her bags for Boston.
Before assuming the role of Executive Director in July 2016, Sarah worked at WriteBoston for 5 years in roles ranging from Grant Writer, Director of New Business and Evaluation, to, most recently, Deputy Director. Sarah brings over 15 years of leadership, program management and partnership development experience through a range of roles within education intermediary organizations. Notable past employers include City Connects, the Boston Plan for Excellence, and the Boston PIC. She earned her Master’s degree from the Education Policy and Management program at Harvard University.
When she’s not learning how to play Pokémon or supervising messy cooking projects with her children, she should be reading, running, or improving her garden.
Julie Biegner
Teens in Print Operations Improvement & Outreach, AmeriCorps*VISTA
Julie Biegner is the AmeriCorps VISTA for Teens in Print. She studied Communication at Boston College, falling in love with issues of social justice and youth development along the way. After graduating, she worked for a freelance writing boutique where she enjoyed writing, editing and drinking too much coffee. Julie then joined a startup as a Community Manager and developed a fascination with the possibilities for technology and digital media in social impact. Now, she is excited to join Teens in Print and work with amazing students on putting together an amazing newspaper.
Kieran Collier loves poetry and spreadsheets with equal vigor. After graduating from Emerson College with a BFA in Writing, Literature, & Publishing and minors in Sociology and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, he served with 826 Boston as the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator, AmeriCorps VISTA, coordinating volunteers, piloting a remote-controlled balloon shark, and celebrating student writing in all its forms. He has worked with students in and out of Boston Public Schools on their creative writing, academic assignments, and test prep for the past two years, focusing on individual voice and the power that comes in writing for different audiences. A writer himself, he’s published a full length collection of poetry When the Gardener Has Left (Wilde Press, 2015) and has even published a chapbook of Fall Out Boy erasure poetry This to You (Beard Poetry, 2016). When he’s not working at WriteBoston, you can find him hosting at the Boston Poetry Slam, coaching Emerson’s quidditch team, or playing mediocre pickup basketball. His favorite color is orange.
Merle Berman
Writing and Instructional Coach, Chelsea Public Schools
Merle Berman’s husband wants to move out of their hometown of over three decades to savor the freedom of anonymity because Merle’s visibility in town extends far and wide—as wife, mother, educator, child and social justice advocate, coach, community leader, fitness fanatic, garden aficionado. Perhaps to her husband’s chagrin, she isn’t leaving town anytime soon. Instead, she is exploring new territory through an uncharted shift to working in urban schools, mentoring a maximum security inmate, and teaching pronunciation to new immigrants, with her South African accent.
It’s no secret that Merle is a Bruce Springsteen devotee. Bruce is an iconic educator, and like The Boss, Merle’s career springs from the ground up. Through teaching children, and training, coaching and leading teachers and administrators, Merle knows how to empower learners to break barriers in their thinking and writing – in life transforming ways. Ask Merle what skills have been most critical to her success and her answer might surprise you: humility and nuance. When not steeped in schools and scholarship, you’ll likely see her wheeling or chasing her grandchildren, throwing pots, braving steep downhills on her bike, or consuming stunning sunset views!
While teaching in Boston Public Schools for over thirty years, Roberta Logan worked collaboratively with colleagues as well as interns from Harvard University and Tufts University. Since retiring from Boston Public Schools, she has continued to work with educators at various levels, who are at different career stages. She is an adjunct faculty member for The Boston Teacher Residency Program. Her appreciation of authentic voices has led to an ongoing relationship with the Africa Outreach Program at Boston University, where she co-facilitates a book group for k-12 educators. Beyond her work with classroom teachers, she serves on the Mission Hill School Governing Board and enjoys gardening, long walks and making soup. Her most recent writing project focused on the historical relationship between African Americans and the legal system in Massachusetts.
The founding Executive Director of WriteBoston (2002–2016), Betty Southwick currently serves as a part-time strategy adviser for the organization. She brings business, management, and teaching experience to her work, including consulting on work-life and dependent care issues for major Fortune 500 companies for ten years. She is an educator with experience as a teacher and a guidance counselor and the parent of two Boston public school graduates.
