Interested in joining the 916 Ink Board?

916 Ink Board of Dreamers

Board President: Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood is an award-winning children’s author, educator, and scholar. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Child and Adolescent Development Department at California State University, Sacramento where she teaches and conducts research. Her research investigates how the lack of diversity in children’s literature affects young learners, their academic outcomes, and the development of biases. Dr. Brown-Wood has received numerous awards for her scholarship such as the AERA Minority Diversity Dissertation Fellowship and the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship. Additionally, Dr. Brown-Wood’s children’s books, including Imani’s Moon and Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story, have gleaned a number of accolades and awards including the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award as well as the Center for Excellence in Reading Instruction’s Read Aloud Book Award through the University of Mississippi. She has at least ten forthcoming picture books including Shhh! The Baby's Asleep (Charlesbridge Publishing Inc, June 2021).

Dr. Brown-Wood is committed to spreading the word about the importance of early language, literacy, and brain development within home, educational, and community contexts, as well as finding ways to help children and youth see themselves in the books they read. She lives in Sacramento with her fantastic husband Catrayel—who is also her high school sweetheart—and their daughter, Vivian. Dr. Brown-Wood enjoys speaking to children through school, library, and community visits, as well as presenting to adults about literacy, supporting brain and language development, and writing for children. Feel free to visit her website www.janayebrownwood.com

Board Vice President: Jennifer Baker is a Legislative Advocate with Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes. She is an education advocate, specializing in teachers’ retirement, budget, and tax policy. She is a former Trustee for the Natomas Unified School District and President of the California Latino School Boards Association and has fought tirelessly for equity in education at the local and state levels. Public speaking and technical writing are skills she wields on a regular basis, whether she’s testifying on legislation or writing an article on federal or state activities that impact retired teachers or education. Learning the importance of being concise and precise have been key to helping her navigate the world of government, politics, and bureaucracy. She has lived in the Sacramento region for more than two decades and spends her free time helping her local school and spending time with her family roller skating or riding her bike.

Board Secretary: Joanna Potenza is a mother (of 2), wife (of 1), and fiction writer (1 novel in progress), and proof that you can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take the Chicago out of the girl. She has had the great fortune to build adult careers out of her childhood dream jobs – archaeologist, stay-at-home parent, and writer. These careers share a highest reward - the electric charge that buzzes between student and teacher when they connect over their shared discoveries.

Board Treasurer: Tigh Rickman is the Senior Investment Strategist at DeCamilla Capital Management in Sacramento and an investment adviser representative registered with the state of California. In this capacity, he manages a wide range of accounts including non-profit endowments, family trusts, and both individual and employer-sponsored retirement plans. Tigh is also a writer of short fiction and holds an MFA in creative writing/literary fiction from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine. His work has appeared in several literary journals including The Bradford ReView, The Conium Review, and The Farallon Review. He was also a contributor to the 2017 anthology Soap Opera Confidential.  A fourth-generation Californian, Tigh was raised in greater Sacramento and, like most native Sacramentans, he moved away after high school only to realize that it doesn’t get better than here. After several years and several cities including Boston, New York City, and Tucson, he moved back. He is passionate about his hometown and helping its next generation develop their individual voices. Tigh and his wife Kelly live in the Med Center neighborhood. 

Mimi Warshaw is a Legislative Representative at the California Department of Education and a former Kindergarten and 1st grade teacher. She works on California education policy, fiscal policy, and federal education issues. Although no longer in the classroom, she is a lifelong educator and engages with her community, and in her job, to positively impact students and families. She carries with her daily the mantra from her former principal and mentor, “Above all else, kids come first.” Outside of work, you’ll likely find Mimi walking her labradoodle, Arno, in Curtis Park, dancing at Sac Dance Lab, or enjoying a local brewery with her husband, Cory. 

Michael Subialka teaches writing and literature at the University of California, Davis, where he enjoys working with students from a wide variety of backgrounds to explore the power of words and imagination. Before coming to California half a decade ago (more or less) he taught abroad at the University of Oxford in England and at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. A native of Colorado, where he still likes to spend time on vacation whenever he can, he studied at the University of Notre Dame and then the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD and where for many years he has also taught academic writing to high school students in the Neubauer Summer Scholars program.

One of Michael’s favorite classes to teach is “Literature of Fantasy and the Supernatural” (you can see his complete list of courses here, if you’re curious), while his own writing focuses on the relationship of literature and philosophy. He is the co-editor of a new digital translation of the complete short stories of Luigi Pirandello, Stories for a Year; previously, he has also directed student theater at Oxford. He now enjoys writing poetry in his free time, when he isn’t spending it with his husband, Carlos, or their friends in Sacramento.

Josue “Sway” Garcia is an Enterprise Technology Specialist at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District or SMUD, specializing in executive technical support. Additionally, Sway has served as president of SMUD’s employee engagement team, where he collaborated with various departments to create a more efficient, positive, and inclusive work environment.

Sway is a 90’s kid, whose passion for reading and writing started when he first discovered the Goosebumps series. His older brother Jesus would bring these books home for them to read together, while their parents worked evenings.

Growing up, Sway recalls how difficult it was for him and his family to purchase the various books he would so often request from Scholastic book fairs and general stores. Now that Sway is a father to a toddler himself, he is committed to making sure that there are adequate and ample resources for children to find their passion in reading and writing.

Michaela Edwards currently serves as the Director of College Access and Completion at Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT), which focuses on increasing the number of young men of color to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. 

Michaela holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of the Pacific, and a Master's Degree in Higher Education Leadership from Sacramento State, and currently, she is in her Doctorate journey in Educational Leadership at Sacramento State. Outside of work, she loves topics surrounding critical race theory and higher education diversity, spending time with friends and family, and listening to Denzel Washington's speeches.

Dorothy Rice is a writer and editor who has published memoirs with two independent presses (The Reluctant Artist, Shanti Arts, 2015, and Gray Is the New Black, Otis Books, 2019 and edited the anthology TWENTY TWENTY: 43 stories from a year like no other (Stories on Stage Sacramento, 2021). Her flash fiction and nonfiction, essays, book reviews and other work have been published in journals including most recently, Five South, Typehouse, Barrelhouse and The Rumpus. A new essay is forthcoming in The Woven Tale Press. Dorothy just completed a Novel in Flash and is working on a Middle Grade novel as well as a memoir in essays. For the past three years she has been the Managing Editor at Under the Gum Tree, a nonfiction and fine arts journal, published right here in Sacramento.

Dorothy was a Wordslinger for several years before joining the 916 Ink Board, and prior to that, she volunteered as an Inspirator. She is also a certified Amherst Artists and Writers Method creative writing workshop facilitator. She has five children and two grandchildren, all of whom attended Sacramento schools. You can find more information and links to some of her published work at www.dorothyriceauthor.com

Lori Hanley believes everyone has a story to tell and every story deserves to be told. She has spent the last 15 years at Sacramento-area nonprofits specializing in telling the stories of underrepresented communities, developing marketing strategies to increase engagement and enhancing internal communications. She is currently a strategist for the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications where she manages statewide public awareness campaigns for some of California’s highest priority issues. She has a bachelor's degree in Journalism from San Jose State University and recently completed the California Society of Association Executives' Leadership Academy. She is also a board member for G.I.R.L.S Rock Sacramento, a local nonprofit that provides a safe place for girls, non-binary and gender expansive youth to express themselves through music.

Mishae (Parker) supports students in reaching their academic and career goals by serves as a counselor at UC Davis School of Medicine with the AvenueM program and at Cosumnes River College in Los Rios School District. She considers herself to be an Advocate, Mentor, and Community Leader through her numerous civic engagement projects. Her value for education and teaching “the babies” began at Sacramento City Unified School District, where she served for over 14 years. Mishae believes that there is an undeniable power when one learns to read and write. When someone can do both of these things, they can become their own advocate; and that is an act of freedom for all to experience.

Angela Clark-Oates is an associate professor in the department of English at Sacramento State University. She enjoys working with first-year students in lower division writing courses, mentoring upper division students as they learn about feminist rhetorics, unruly rhetorics, social media and civic engagement, and designing research methods and writing pedagogies courses and chairing theses committees for graduate students seeking master’s degrees in rhetoric, composition, and professional writing. In all these moments, her goal is to construct a generative community of practice where learning, collaboration, and mentorship are valued. Angela is also a faculty-administrator who has led writing programs for over a decade including the one at Sac State. She is currently administering the graduation writing assessment requirement for the university. This means that she eats, sleeps, dreams all things writing (even at home with her two sons and husband). Her research is focused on faculty learning, writing program administration, digital literacies, and feminist rhetoric, and most recently, Angela co-edited a special issue for Peitho, the journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, focused on the challenges and complexities of coalition-building. 

Angela grew up in Texas, spending much of her childhood in public libraries in rural communities in west Texas. She earned her PhD from Arizona State University and kept moving west to chase her dreams. She has lived in Sacramento since 2015 and feels so fortunate to live in Northern California.

Angela has been involved with 916 Ink for over five years as a volunteer, a Sac State faculty partner, and an internship coordinator. 

Founders

Katie McCleary is the founding Executive Director of 916 Ink. Prior to the opening of 916 Ink, Katie served as the director of mentoring services for at-risk youth in the Grant Joint Union High School District and Grant Community Charter Schools. In 2007, Katie earned her MFA in writing and consciousness, completing her first literary novel, Blinded, which is currently being shopped by her agent. For three years, McCleary taught composition at American River College and Sacramento City College, helping underserved students. It was there that she discovered “the secret sauce" to unlocking youth voice, and thus, 916 Ink was born. Katie finds that 916 Ink is the perfect marriage of empowering youth and engaging them in the literary arts.

Katie's dedication and vision brought the 916 Ink model from original concept to execution, shepherding the project from its very first workshop to the notable Sacramento institution that it is today!

Michael Spurgeon A 916 Ink founder and our first Board President, Michael Spurgeon is a tenured professor of English at American River College, where he teaches composition, literature, and creative writing. He is Executive Vice President at the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation and the Director of the foundation's Center on Literary Arts. Michael holds an MFA from the University of Arizona and is the author of the novel Let The Water Hold Me Down (Ad Lumen Press).

Though no longer on the Board of Dreamers, he remains an enthusiastic advocate for the organization.

Chris J. Baltzley, a founding board member of 916 Ink, is a specialist in organizational and leadership development with Continuity Consulting, where he works with public, private and nonprofit sector clients to achieve both business results and promote human flourishing. He has a MA in intercultural studies, with additional training in a variety of fields, including experiential cultural learning and leadership (EXCELL) and successful language and culture acquisition. He has worked in a variety of industries, including banking, insurance, and higher education, and he has served in leadership with NGOs and nonprofit organizations in Central Asia and New Zealand. He and his wife Tara have two daughters, named Asia and Maia, and one recycled Terrier, named Milo.

Once a Dreamer, Always a Dreamer!

Board of Dreamers Alumni