Board & Staff

Board:

Xavier Peña, President
Christina Gonzalez, Vice President
Michael Pipkin, Treasurer
Garrick Malone, Secretary
Mark Cervenka
Brian Cheadle
Jane Creighton
David Francis
Beth McFarland Haag
Barry Hammond
Danielle Houston
Chanler Langham
Marcia Nichols
Amanda Martin Nicolo
Chris Porter
Sheleah Hughes Reed
Carolyn Rodz
Rachel Etheridge Solar
Julie Tran
Ann Ziker


Staff:


Robin Reagler, Ph.D., Executive Director
Robin joined WITS as a writer in 1990, and she has worked in every facet of the organization, from teaching to program development to administration. Currently as Executive Director, Robin not only leads WITS in its Houston endeavors; she also heads the WITS Alliance, a national consortium of literary arts education groups. Robin earned an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Her poems and essays have been published widely in books and journals such as Ploughshares and HOW(ever), and her chapbook Dear Red Airplane was published in 2011.

 
 
Bao-Long Chu, Associate Director
Long plans and implements WITS' creative writing programs. A writer originally from Vietnam, Long earned an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. His poems are anthologized in several books, including Watermark and Both Sides Now. He has been with WITS as an administrator for the past twelve years. He has served on the artistic Board of DiverseWorks Arts Space and Gulf Coast Literary Journal.

 


Angie Coats, Accounting Manager
Angie manages all financial aspects of the organization, including receivables, payables, payroll, budgets, and financial reports.  She also oversees the annual audit and tax return preparation.  A native of Wisconsin, Angie lives in the Houston area with her husband and two cats.

 
 
 
 
Jack McBride, Program Director
Jack manages in-school programs, after-school programs, The Menil Collection project, and the Summer Creative Writing Workshops. He is responsible for recruiting, training, and managing writers in teaching placements and leads the WITS summer internship program. Jack graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio with a B.A. in art history and Spanish.
 

Kate Rybka Brennan, Development Associate
Kate writes grants and directs the fundraising strategy for Writers in the Schools, including the Celebration of Story benefit. Prior to her work at Writers in the Schools, Kate served as the lead development staff for a $25 million dollar capital, endowment, and program campaign. A native of Minnesota, Kate has a B.A. from Mills College.

 


Jennifer Watson, Communications Manager
Jennifer is responsible for conveying the WITS message to a variety of people through public relations, marketing materials and maintenance of the blog and website. She comes to WITS as a previous intern with a background in professional writing and editing. A native Houstonian, Jennifer received her B.A. in English from the University of Houston and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from the University of St. Thomas.
 


Gayatri Parikh, Office Manager
Gayatri manages the office and keeps it operating efficiently.  She provides clerical support for the Executive Director and staff, and assists with programming and special events.  Gayatri has a B.A. in English from the University of Houston and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College.  She lives in River Oaks with her husband, Jon, and her cat, Romeo.