Facilitators
Ally Bonhaus
Allyson (Ally) Bonhaus (she/her) began attending YWWf(a)C classes before she entered high school and she hasn’t left since! She has become a teen assistant and completed the Young Women’s Feminist Leadership Academy program (YFLA) in 2018. She currently is attending George Washington University where she pursues a history major, as well as English and Women’s Gender Studies courses. At GW, she continues to foster young women’s voices on the directors team of Women and Youth Supporting Each Other in the D.C. area.
She is honored to be a part of the Women Writing team and is excited to continue writing with everyone!
Shana Brodnax
Shana Brodnax (she/her) started participating in writing circles in 2018, and found them such a powerful experience that she went through the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy in 2019 to become a facilitator herself. She has been a writer since she was a little girl, but before WWf(a)C writing circles would never have said so. Now she can stand on the sacred ground that “a writer is a woman who writes,” and is honored to hold space for other women to discover this too. She often says “circles are magic!” She also incorporates them into her leadership development work as a coach and consultant, doing writing circles with her clients across the country, and holds regular virtual circles specifically for Black women and women of color. She has a B.A. in African-American Studies and Political Science from Indiana University Bloomington, a M.S. in Nonprofit Management from the New School in New York, and now lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Bear.
Diane Debevec
Diane Debevec (she/her) is a visual artist who loves to write. Several years ago she left a corporate career to explore her love of painting and drawing, relocating to Cincinnati in 1998. She attended her first class at Women Writing for (a) Change in 1999, and was hooked. Several semesters of classes led her to the Feminist Leadership Academy. She credits the core writing classes at Women Writing, and the FLA, with helping her to create a more authentic life. “Women Writing for (a) Change taught me to be increasingly conscious in every part of my life. What I learned here, and my daily writing practice, brings clarity and courage to every decision and relationship.”
Diane has facilitated & co-facilitated several writing and multi-arts circles, in a variety of settings from living rooms to a local prison. Her re-created life includes an urban community known as Artful Habitats, where she provides unique apartments to creative city dwellers. She resides there with her husband, Jeff Smith, dogs Sydney & Mandy, and the inimitable Audrey the Cat. Diane shares studio space with painter Polly Hart at the Essex Studios.
Jaye Elizabeth Elijah
Jaye Elizabeth Elijah (they/them) has been a member of the YWWf(a)C community since attending summer class at the age of ten. They are a graduate of the Young Feminist Leadership Academy class of 2013 and have grown from teen assistant to facilitator. When not in Cincinnati, Jaye Elizabeth, who holds a BA from The New School in New York City, works with justice organizers, wellness practitioners, and genius young people from Bed Stuy brownstones to the New Mexican desert.
(Image by Deogracias Lerma)
Hannah Simon Goldman
Hannah Simon Goldman (she/her) began attending YWWf(a)C circles as a young teen, and no one’s been able to get rid of her since! In the interim, she has become a facilitator of youth programs, and even works with adults in the all-gender Let's Be Perfectly Queer circle with Janie Baer. Hannah has a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies and English (no surprises there!), and loves holding space for identity exploration of all sorts.
Laurie Lambert
Laurie (she/her) began classes at WWf(a)C in 2011 as a Wednesday night writer in the women’s Core Class. She completed studies at the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy in 2013. She holds outreach writing circles in the community and has facilitated the All Gender Core Class since 2015. Laurie also organized WWf(a)C’s first V-Day event in 2013 and continues to coordinate our annual V-Day presentations. Laurie’s poetry has been included in several journals and anthologies. Finishing Line Press published her chapbook What I Can Carry (2016), and her first full-length collection of poems What We Are Made Of (2019). Laurie holds a B.A. in Chemistry and a PhD in Immunology. She and her husband Chris Kelling are the parents of adult triplets. Their home is near Morrow, Ohio.
Liv Linn
Liv Linn (she/her) has been taking classes, facilitating camps and the Young Feminist Leadership Academy, and making trouble at WWf(a)C since she was eight years old. She is a graduate of the 2013 class of YFLA. Liv's passions have always been at the intersection of feminism and storytelling in many mediums, including podcasting, zines, and oral history, although poetry will always be her first love. She is currently making her home in Durham, NC, where she hikes, eats biscuits, and spends hours at Zoom city council meetings.
Elizabeth Mannion
Elizabeth has a B.A. from Wellesley College and a J.D. from Fordham University. Writing has always been an integral part of her life whether writing briefs as a lawyer, stories to share with her children, or poetry for peace of mind. Discovering the Core classes at Women Writing for (a) Change was like coming home. From 2017-2018 Elizabeth was Board President at Women Writing for (a) Change. Elizabeth graduated from the organization's Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy in 2017.
Elizabeth has also served in several other volunteer capacities including as a Board Member for AMAC (Academy of Medicine Alliance of Cincinnati), Gala Co-Chair for the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Symphony, Silent Auction Chair for charity fundraisers and Blue Ash PTA President.
She formerly owned the Montgomery Book Company. Elizabeth and her husband have three grown children and one granddaughter.
Karen Novak
Karen (she/her) has lived in Mason, Ohio for nearly 30 years. She is a writer by trade, having published four novels--three of which were reviewed in the New York Times. In 2008, while recovering from chemo, she discovered Women Writing for (a) Change, and there she found her real work in life, nurturing the voices of others. She graduated from the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy (CFLA) in 2013 and has been facilitating circles since. WWf(a)C is both her spiritual home and a never-ending source of growth. Her sustaining belief is that the way we learn who we really are is through putting our words into the world.
Moneeca 'MoPoetry' Phillips
Moneeca ‘MoPoetry’ Phillips is a national spoken word artist. She graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2011 with a B.A. in English and a focus on Creative Writing. In November 2019, she and another woman from Florida became the first African American women certified to facilitate writing circles through Women Writing for (a) Change.
MoPoetry represents a truly versatile poet and writer. During her early years, she was given the name Evangelist Poem for her “In His Presence” series of inspirational poetry. Her first published poems “I Don’t Want to Be Black” and “Eradication of Ventriloquy” were released May 2019 as part of SOS Art, For a Better World 2019, an annual collaborative collection of poems on peace and justice. Her poem “Surprise Ending” was published by The Voices Project in May 2019.
She was one of thirty people invited to perform at the Black Poetry Café Poetryfest in Myrtle Beach in May 2019. In addition, she received an AWP Journal Intro nomination for her creative, non-fiction piece, “Equals Greatness.” This mini autobiography along with 70 poems is part of her first published book “Equals Greatness,” published in August 2019.
MoPoetry won the Faith A. Smith 2019 Wild Women Poetry Slam in September 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. She has been the show organizer, promoter, and host of Regal Rhythms monthly slam and feature poetry show since August 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the founder and host of Hit the Mic Cincy since October 2019. She continues to impact the community and support other artists as she grows in her gift.
Lisa Prantl
A life in words. From childhood rhymes to ideas and feelings translated on paper; from block letters and manual typewriters to keyboards, writing has been an ebb and flow in how to understand and live life for Lisa. Her Cincinnati writing roots run deep with elementary school poetry published in the Seven Hills Review, a public library creative publication, and more recently her poetry appeared in the local publication, For A Better World (2017, 2018). Prior to graduating with a BA in English from the University of Cincinnati, Lisa was winner of that university’s Elsie B. Westheimer Short Story Prize for her story, Changers and Billers.
Decades later, attending a Women Writing for (a) Change sampler, Lisa found both a place to write and the encouragement that comes from being heard. Lisa is a graduate of the organization’s Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy (CFLA, 2017). For her CFLA practicum, Lisa facilitated writing circles focusing on aging and end of life transitions. After retiring from a corporate career, Lisa completed training as a Death Midwife and is a member of the Cincinnati End of Life Collaborative.
Joining both the faculty and board at Women Writing is a coming home and giving back for Lisa, making it easy to follow her lifelong passion for words and service.
Kelly Richey
Kelly Richey is an award-winning blues musician, poet/songwriter, guitar teacher, life coach, spiritual director, and inspirational speaker. She has made her mark through the power of her voice – figuratively and literally. Kelly is a 2015 graduate of the WWf(a)C Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy and weaves writing practices into her coaching and teaching practice. Kelly founded Women Writing for (a) Change + Mobile, an affiliate school that takes the WWf(a)C circle practices on the road.
Lisa Rocklin
Lisa Rocklin (she/her) found her way to a Women Writing Saturday Sampler in 2006. From that first circle, it was wonderfully obvious that her writing voice had found a home. She is a 2015 graduate of the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy and became a SoulCollage® facilitator in 2020. Lisa has a BA in English and an MA in Secondary Education from Northern Kentucky University, as well as a BA in International Affairs from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the staff of Women Writing for (a) Change, Lisa spent 21 years as a high school English teacher. She credits her sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Patsy Cash Cole, with recognizing and encouraging her poetic tendencies. Helping young people cultivate their authentic selves through writing is a passion she pursues as a facilitator of teens' and young women’s classes. She lives in Mt. Healthy with her husband Tony and dogs Daisy and Hazel.
Sally Schneider
Sally (she/her) is a passionate teacher of the practices of Women Writing for (a) Change, a role she has relished since 2006. She has the privilege of facilitating the “Marvelous Monday Nighters” and the “Terrific Tuesday Writers,” and has led sampler and outreach classes for the Campbell County Library, Wise Temple Sisterhood, and The Women’s Connection. Sally discovered the magic of Women Writing for (a) Change in 2002, and has been a proud member of the community ever since. Her transformative journey, which began as a Saturday Sampler participant, led her through seven semester classes to the Feminist Leadership Academy, from which she graduated in 2006. She continues to hone her leadership skills by participating in WWf(a)C sponsored workshops and retreats, and by exchanging ideas with other “sister” facilitators around the country.
Sally credits, with gratitude, her teachers and mentors in the Women Writing for (a) Change community (Kathy Wade, Mary Pierce Brosmer, and Mary Ann Jansen), for her growth as a woman, a writer, and a conscious leader. Sally continues to draw on their wisdom as she facilitates her own circles, and finds great joy in spreading the magic of Women Writing for (a) Change to others.
Rowe Schnure
Rowe Schnure (they/them) is a weaver, writer and facilitator, living and working in Cincinnati, OH. They are anchored in a fascination of the weaving process as a metaphor for understanding the relationship of one's internal and external environments. In Rowe's 10 years of weaving, they have exhibited their sculptural artwork in multiple states, led community weaving workshops for children to seniors and facilitated their own workshop curriculum known as Contemplative Weaving. Rowe is a 2022 graduate of the
Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy.
(Photo by Cassandra Zetta)
Amy Sullivan
Amy (she/hers) took her first WWf(a)C class in 2007 following the death of her mom. She needed a place to express herself and be held. She found that deep caring and community in the circles and also got in touch with her true voice. After several years of circles, Amy stepped aside as her daughter became involved at WWf(a)C. Inspired by watching her daughter attend and graduate from YFLA, Amy attended CFLA in 2019 and is a Sister Tree.
Following a mid-life revolution, she went back to school to get her Master's in Mental Health Counseling leaving her years as a massage therapist behind. As a SoulCollage© facilitator, she loves to facilitate writing/SoulCollage© circles.
Keegan Sullivan
Keegan (she/her) first attended classes as a nine year old, at her favorite summer camp. She ended up returning to the teen fall camp after getting her heart broken at 16 (as so many do). She fell in love all over again with the community and space. She has attended countless classes since then, assisted as a teen assistant for many years, and is a 2018 YFLA grad. She is passionate about intersectional feminism, poetry, cats, books, and her friendships (particularly the ones she made at Women Writing). She currently attends Salem College as an English and History double major.
Pam Temple
Pam is a singer and a songwriter. She was born and raised in Cincinnati, where she got started performing music and sang with May Festival Chorus. She attended The Ohio State University, where she sang with the Columbus Symphony Chorus and graduated with a BS in Occupational Therapy and minor in music performance. To avoid getting a “straight” job, she joined the Peace Corps (Costa Rica '92-'94), where she sang with the Costa Rican National Symphony Chorus. Upon her return to the States, she formed a band with her husband and started performing her songs with the now award-winning American Roots group, Wild Carrot. When not making music, she can be heard as an on-air host on both Classical 90.9FM WGUC and NPR affiliate radio station, 91.7FM WVXU.
Diane Debevec encouraged her to bring her song writing to Women Writing for (a) Change®. She has been a Tuesday morning writer at WWf(a)C since 2013 and is a graduate of CFLA in the 2015 Elementals cohort. Her passion is to help women find or rediscover their singing voices. She lives in Oakley where she loves (in no particular order) playing music with others, reading, her guitar, her husband, and her four rescued animals, two dogs and two cats.
Annette Januzzi Wick
Annette Januzzi Wick is a writer, teacher and community connector. She grew up in northern Ohio. She graduated from the University of Akron with a Computer Science degree yet still sighs when her cell phone doesn’t work. For a time, she made her home in the Pacific Northwest until firmly planting her feet in Cincinnati. When she’s not writing, she is walking Cincinnati’s fifty-two neighborhoods or finding and making connections in the community.
A 2008 graduate of the Feminist Leadership Academy, Annette is the founder of Three Arch Press, and has previously published I’ll Be in the Car (2006). I’ll Have Some of Yours (2019) is based on her award-winning blog, Find You in the Sun (www.findyouinthesun.com), where additional essays appear.
Her writings have appeared in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Cornerstone, Erma Bombeck Humor Blog, Grief Becomes You: A Narrative of Loss, Movers and Makers, HCR Manorcare online communications, and have received awards from Writer’s Digest, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Sinclair College, and USA Book News.
Annette is available for speaking events, book signings and writing workshops. Visit annettejwick.com to purchase her book or learn more. I’ll Have Some of Yours is also available for order through Amazon and major distributors.
Christine Wilson
Christine (she/her) is a local artist, writer, spiritual leader, and mentor living in Northside, which suits her just fine. She won the English Department award in poetry at University of Cincinnati where she attended, and has had solo shows at Rohs St. Café and Red Tree Art Gallery where her art occasionally pops up. She spent multiple years in ministry at a local church where she headed up arts, teens, spiritual growth, and was the sole writer for a 25,000 readership devotional. She also has a passion for diversity and justice and does ongoing work with trafficking victims in India.
Christine had heard rumors of the Women Writing for (a) Change community and embraced it wholeheartedly in 2014, which led to participating in the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy in 2017. Women Writing has helped her find her fuller voice and live more consciously and slowly which is a fete since she is married with 5 young adult kids, a dog, and a bunny. She has taught and facilitated multiple classes from writing to spirituality around the world and locally, and is honored to be a part of the Women Writing Community.