WWf(a)C Affiliates
Bloomington, Indiana
The Bloomington affiliate of Women Writing for (a) Change® supports the lives of individuals for whom writing is, or is becoming, an important creative and spiritual practice. The mission of the school has always been to create a healthy, creatively-charged writing community that celebrates the voices of women in search of authenticity, deeper consciousness, healing, personal transformation and re-connection.
Beth Lodge-Rigal, Owner/Director of WWf(a)C, Bloomington, is an artist-educator, an award-winning songwriter, and licensed facilitator of WWf(a)C classes and workshops. She’s a mom, a wife, dog-walker, quiet feminist, poet and story-teller. She has worked with diverse groups of all ages and abilities for most of her adult life and is licensed and certified to utilize the WWf(a)C approach with Adults and Young Women. She models and encourages the telling of true stories and development of authentic voice. Beth has been facilitating the development of the Bloomington affiliate of Women Writing for (a) Change since 2004 and has seen it take root and spread wings over time.
Central Ohio (Dayton and Columbus)
WWf(a)C in Dayton invites, nurtures, develops and celebrates the individual voice in shared practices of wisdom community. Emerging from the Cincinnati mother-school and alongside its sister-affiliates, it provides local opportunities to craft more conscious living through the art of writing and receptive listening in a complicated world. Self and communal transformation have been known to happen!
Lisa M. Hess—licensed by Women Writing for (a) Change, Cincinnati, and graduate of the 2013 Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy—is a companion, contemplative, scholar, poet, wife, daughter, sister, and teaching-elder (PCUSA). She serves the common good as an active leader in traditional and non-traditional communities of practice, bringing deeply rooted wisdom wherever it is welcome. She has held sacred spaces for teaching & learning in the Miami Valley (Ohio) for over ten years, most visibly at United Theological Seminary in north Dayton.
Grand Junction, Colorado
Women Writing for (a) Change, Grand Junction offers classes in a non-competitive, safe environment as women explore and develop their writing skills. In our writing circles and specialty classes participants explore and work in a variety of genres, including journal-writing, poetry, prose, essay, fiction, and more. While some participants have published, the focus is on process rather than product. Women receive useful resources and feedback relevant to their own needs. Writing becomes a tool to promote personal growth through self-expression within a supportive community of other women writers. All women’s stories are listened to and honored within the WWf(a)C circle, and care is taken to honor each individual’s process within the larger group. We meet in both large and smaller groups of writers, time is valued and our process creates a safe “container” for each and every woman.
Karen Fricke is a writer, published poet and long-time educator and has taught students at both elementary and middle-school levels. She has also provided classes and workshops for adults at the university level to enhance their teaching of writing. She attended the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy in the summer of 2015 (CFLA) and received licensure to open an affiliate school in Grand Junction, CO. This experience was powerful on many levels, as it provided a wealth of valuable resources and insights for her to tap into while facilitating WWf(a)C. Karen combines her experiences to faciliate the healing practice of writing in an authentic, supportive circle which provides a space for women to speak their truths and share their stories.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Locally, the Indianapolis affiliate has offered classes since 2006 including core classes, workshops, retreats, public read-arounds, and outreach programs.
Women Writing for (a) Change Indianapolis provides writing opportunities to individuals for whom writing is an important creative, spiritual, healing, and transformative process.
Jacksonville, Florida
Women Writing for (a) Change, Jacksonville, is a new writing community for Jacksonville writers. Creative writing in all forms is honored at WWf(a)C: journaling, fiction, poetry, prose, and collage. We offer core writing classes on a semester basis, and we also offer one-day workshops and longer retreats. You don’t have to be an experienced writer to join the circle, although many experienced writers have benefitted from it. All are invited.
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Women Writing for (a) Change, Willamette Valley, is an inspiring and nurturing writing school based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Through writing, sharing and listening, we reflect on our lives, write the truth of our experiences and amplify our voices. All forms of writing are encouraged: prose, poetry, journaling, fiction, memoir, list-making, songs, etc. We welcome writers of all experience levels. Our focus is on the transformative process of writing in a non-competitive format.