About

Awards & Honors

• Residency Fellowship, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, 2003
• Ronald D. Bayes Writer-in-Residence Fellowship, St. Andrews College, 2002
• John Ciardi Fellow in Poetry, Bread Loaf Writers Conference 2000
• Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, 1999
• Miami Beach Arts Council Grant, 1999
• Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award, Runner Up, 1999
• University of Pittsburgh Press Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, 1997
• National Poetry Series Award Finalist, 1996
• Charles Johnson Award, Finalist, University of Southern Illinois, 1996

Academic Teaching Experience

2003-2004 Georgetown University and American University, Washington, D.C.

Lecturer

Lecturer for various creative writing and genre courses, including: LIT 401 Creative Writing-Poetry, LIT 215 Writers in Print and in Person, and ENGL 105 Introduction to Creative Writing as well as a prison education course through the Georgetown Center for Social Justice.

1999-2002 Central Connecticut State University, New Britain

Assistant Professor/Director of Creative Writing Minor

Tenure track position with the Department of English; 4/4 course load: Creative Writing Poetry I & II, Advanced Poetry Workshop, Introduction to Poetry (genre course), Contemporary U.S. Latina/o Literature; and Independent Study; Director/Coordinator of Creative Writing Minor program; committee work: undergraduate advising and student scholarship awards. Nominated by students for Teaching Excellence Award, 2002.

1998-99 Florida International University Creative Writing Program, Miami

Instructor — Introduction to Creative Writing (CRW 2001)

Weekly lectures, assignments, and workshop sessions concentrating on craft and basic technical elements of poetry and short story; introduced students to the work of a variety of contemporary poets; class requirements included journal writing, attendance of literature readings and essays in response to the work of contemporary authors.

1998 Miami-Dade Community College English Department

Instructor — English Composition (ENC 1101 & ENC 1102)

Instruction on the basic techniques of critical thinking and essay writing; introduced students to Latino/Latina writers and encouraged exploration of ethnic identity through creative elements of the writing process.

1994 Allapattah Y.M.C.A., Miami, Florida

Founder and Coordinator — Project Write

Developed and coordinated an after school program which introduced inner-city students to local literary figures; featured writers shared their experience as writers exposing students to the world of literary arts.

1993 Miami, Florida

Founder and Coordinator — Butterfly Lightning Reading Series

Developed and coordinated the currently running reading series which showcases local literary talent; named as best reading series in Miami by local newspaper.