RYW Staff
Bird Cox
Executive Director / Co-Founder
Email: richmondyoungwriters@gmail.com
Bird co-founded the organization in 2010 with writer Valley Haggard. Bird graduated from the University of Virginia in its first class of creative writing majors, and she has written for Richmond Magazine, C-ville Weekly, and the literary magazine McSweeney’s. Her work with RYW won her the Emyl Jenkins Award in 2021. Bird invites you to support young writers who are experiencing incarceration via the Free Verse program.
Quarry, where some RYW programs take place, is Bird’s creative community space for adults.
Catherine Carson
Teacher
Catherine is a Richmond native with a deep love for teaching and writing. She graduated from James Madison University in 2019 with a B.A. in English literature and a concentration in Creative Writing. Catherine is the poet behind The Land of Opposite Attractions (Brandylane Publishing, 2022). In her free time, Catherine loves to journal, take on art projects, read, and be outside. She is currently working on her second poetry collection and a memoir project, as well as applying to graduate programs for creative writing. Catherine teaches art and creative writing classes around Richmond and loves every moment of it.
Emily Okamoto-Green
Teacher
Emily Okamoto-Green is a half Japanese poet, essayist, educator, editor, and animal lover. Her life highlights include Arthur Sze once saying her poem had a sense of wonder, and any time a cat or dog has come up to her without her first initiating the interaction. She teaches literature and creative writing at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Quarry RVA, and Studio Two Three, and you can find her at her desk trying to edit poetry amidst the chaos of an overly energetic orange cat named Maple.
Evan Fleischer
Teacher
Evan Fleischer is a writer, editor, and recent MFA currently graduate living in Richmond, VA. He has regularly run D&D sessions for people of all ages and experience levels over the past two years. He is currently locked in a third-person bio and is trying to find his way out.
Grace Gentry
Teacher
Grace is a dancer, writer, artist, and teacher from Ohio who dropped anchor in Richmond after being blown about by a Oaxacan whirlwind, cleaned out by a Las Vegas gamble, and washed ashore in the midst of a Texas thunderstorm. Forever fascinated by words, Grace is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and freelance resume writer who boasts a dual-major degree from Wittenberg University in English Literature and Communication Studies, and a Master’s of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Arizona State University. Grace speaks English natively and Spanish fluently, and she is currently learning French and Dari (Persian). She spends most of her free time dancing, or with her Shih Tzu/toy poodle mix Louie, whose bark is untranslatable to anyone but his mother.
Kisha Hughes
Teacher
Kisha Hughes graduated from James Madison University in 2007 with a BA in English/Creative Writing. She has spent her summers teaching children ages 6-15 at the Furious Flower Poetry Camp in Harrisonburg, VA since 2009. During the year she works at the Army Logistics University Library as a library technician, where she gets to share her love for education, research and writing. She lives in Richmond with her artistic spouse and three troublesome felines.
Lila Jones
Teacher
Lila is thrilled to be a teacher at Richmond Young Writers. As the first alumna to return to teach, she’s very excited to be part of this team of mentors, offering classes and summer camps to the next generation of young writers. Lila received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Visual Arts/ Photography from Guilford College. Upon graduation, she received a grant from the English/Creative Writing department to fund her role as RYW’s first teaching fellow in 2020. Deeply committed to providing safe spaces to learn and thrive, Lila also collaborates with local and international communities to build sustainable food systems and preserve our natural ecosystems.
Nate Waggoner
Teacher
Nate Waggoner's writing has appeared in Electric Lit, Barrelhouse, Peach Mag, Vol. 1 Brooklyn and elsewhere. In 2014, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a Master's in fiction writing. He runs the Wild at Heart Reading Series at Gallery5. He teaches Writing is Magic and Tough Love: A Writing Workshop with Real Talk at the Visual Arts Center.