Meet Our Team
Al DeGenova's Bio
Al DeGenova is a writer, poet, teacher and marketing professional from the Chicago area. He has written seven books, founded After Hours Press, and is co-editor of After Hours magazine, a journal of Chicago Writing and art. He has taught several workshops for Write On, Door County and teaches an annual summer writing class (originally the Norbert Blei Writing Workshop) at The Clearing Folk School; he has also taught in the MBA program at Concordia University in River Forest, IL.
This is all work he has done in parallel to a 30-year-career as a marketing executive managing people, strategic planning, and budgets. DeGenova will work with Write On’s founding and now artistic director, Jerod Santek, to continue growing the organization’s programs, outreach and reputation as a home for readers and writers on its 59-acre campus.
Al DeGenova's Bio
Al DeGenova is a writer, poet, teacher and marketing professional from the Chicago area. He has written seven books, founded After Hours Press, and is co-editor of After Hours magazine, a journal of Chicago Writing and art. He has taught several workshops for Write On, Door County and teaches an annual summer writing class (originally the Norbert Blei Writing Workshop) at The Clearing Folk School; he has also taught in the MBA program at Concordia University in River Forest, IL.
This is all work he has done in parallel to a 30-year-career as a marketing executive managing people, strategic planning, and budgets. DeGenova will work with Write On’s founding and now artistic director, Jerod Santek, to continue growing the organization’s programs, outreach and reputation as a home for readers and writers on its 59-acre campus.
Executive Director
Jerod Santek's Bio
Jerod is the Founding and Artistic Director, overseeing the residency program as well as conferences, festivals, classes, and presentations. He serves on the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission and the national advisory board of Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po), as well as on the boards of several local organizations. From 2009-2019, he served on the board of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), representing Writers' Conferences and Centers. In 2024, he received the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature from AWP.
I am proud to be part of the beginning of Write On, Door County. In the summer of 2013, I took what many might consider a huge leap of faith and left my job as Program Director at one of the oldest writing organizations in the country - the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis - to head this new center. It remains one of the best decisions I've ever made. I am grateful to all the board members who joined with me in taking this risk, and to all the wonderful people who have supported us as we moved from dream to reality.
Contact Jerod at jerod@writeondoorcounty.org.
Jerod Santek's Bio
Jerod was the founding director of Write On and serves as its Artistic Director, overseeing the residency program as well as conferences, festivals, classes, and presentations. He serves on the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission and on the boards of several local organizations. From 2009-2019, he served on the board of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), representing Writers' Conferences and Centers. He has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in a number of print and online literary journals and magazines, including Ploughshares, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Blithe House Quarterly.
I am proud to be part of the beginning of Write On, Door County. In the summer of 2013, I took what many might consider a huge leap of faith and left my job as Program Director at one of the oldest writing organizations in the country - the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis - to head this new center. It remains one of the best decisions I've ever made. I am grateful to all the board members who joined with me in taking this risk, and to all the wonderful people who have supported us as we moved from dream to reality.
Contact Jerod at jerod@writeondoorcounty.org.
Founding & Artistic Director
Therese Maring's Bio
Therese has been called earnest, a research nerd, perspicacious (which she promptly looked up) and “assertively welcoming.” She takes all these as compliments.
These traits served Therese well during a career in magazine and book publishing that took her to New York; Chicago; Birmingham, Alabama; and Madison, Wisconsin. She has worked at word-y places including American Girl Publishing, Seventeen magazine, Advertising Age and the public library’s children’s department. She has freelance written and edited for national publications, websites and retailers. She is happy to be part of the inspiring community at Write On, Door County.
Contact Therese at therese@writeondoorcounty.org.
Therese Marings's Bio
Therese has been called earnest, a research nerd, perspicacious (which she promptly looked up) and “assertively welcoming.” She takes all these as compliments.
These traits served Therese well during a career in magazine and book publishing that took her to New York; Chicago; Birmingham, Alabama; and Madison, Wisconsin. She has worked at word-y places including American Girl Publishing, Seventeen magazine, Advertising Age and the public library’s children’s department. She has freelance written and edited for national publications, websites and retailers. She is happy to be part of the inspiring community at Write On, Door County.
Contact Therese at therese@writeondoorcounty.org.
Therese Maring
Administrative Coordinator
Tonya Crowell's Bio
Tonya is an outdoor enthusiast who finds inspiration in the connections between people, communities, and the natural world. Her passion for sharing experiences comes from a deep appreciation for how words can bridge understanding and foster meaningful connections.
With a background in retail, education, and outdoor programming, she values the ability to connect nature, destinations, and the heart of communities. Holding a master’s degree in reading, she understands the power of storytelling and literacy in shaping experiences and deepening connections. Now, as part of Write On, she is excited to continue cultivating these connections through the power of writing.
Outside of her professional work, Tonya is passionate about volunteering in her community, supporting local initiatives that foster a love for the outdoors. When she’s not writing or hiking trails across the U.S., she loves discovering and sharing hidden gems close to home.
Contact Tonya at tonya@writeondoorcounty.org
Tonya Crowell's Bio
Tonya is an outdoor enthusiast who finds inspiration in the connections between people, communities, and the natural world. Her passion for sharing experiences comes from a deep appreciation for how words can bridge understanding and foster meaningful connections.
With a background in retail, education, and outdoor programming, she values the ability to connect nature, destinations, and the heart of communities. Holding a master’s degree in reading, she understands the power of storytelling and literacy in shaping experiences and deepening connections. Now, as part of Write On, she is excited to continue cultivating these connections through the power of writing.
Outside of her professional work, Tonya is passionate about volunteering in her community, supporting local initiatives that foster a love for the outdoors. When she’s not writing or hiking trails across the U.S., she loves discovering and sharing hidden gems close to home.
Contact Tonya at tonya@writeondoorcounty.org
Tonya Crowell
Administrative Assistant
Board of Directors
James Braza
Jim is a recently-retired attorney, having practiced law as a commercial construction litigator in Milwaukee for 40 years. Jim and his wife, Mary Kay, owned a vacation home in Door County for years, and upon their retirement, built a home in Egg Harbor that is now their primary residence. While they still maintain a presence in Milwaukee, Door County is now their permanent home.
Throughout his legal career, Jim has been active in board leadership roles for nonprofit organizations, particularly in the performing arts space. He now shares that same passion for the Door County nonprofit community. Jim is an avid writer. He has published one nonfiction book (91st Street), and is now writing fiction short stories and a novel. He is a regular attendee at classes provided by Write On Door County as he seeks to morph his legal writing background into more creative pursuits. In addition to writing, Jim is a passionate golfer and an amateur chef.
James Braza
Jim is a recently-retired attorney, having practiced law as a commercial construction litigator in Milwaukee for 40 years. Jim and his wife, Mary Kay, owned a vacation home in Door County for years, and upon their retirement, built a home in Egg Harbor that is now their primary residence. While they still maintain a presence in Milwaukee, Door County is now their permanent home.
Throughout his legal career, Jim has been active in board leadership roles for nonprofit organizations, particularly in the performing arts space. He now shares that same passion for the Door County nonprofit community. Jim is an avid writer. He has published one nonfiction book (91st Street), and is now writing fiction short stories and a novel. He is a regular attendee at classes provided by Write On Door County as he seeks to morph his legal writing background into more creative pursuits. In addition to writing, Jim is a passionate golfer and an amateur chef.
Vice President
V.T. Bidania
V.T. Bidania is the author of the Astrid and Apollo series and the forthcoming A Year Without a Home. The latter is a fictionalized memoir of her family’s escape from Laos and their year in a refugee camp and will be published in 2026. Bidania was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, where her family resettled as refugees after the Vietnam War. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Writing Fellow. She lives outside of the Twin Cities with her family.
V.T. Bidania
V.T. Bidania is the author of the Astrid and Apollo series and the forthcoming A Year Without a Home. The latter is a fictionalized memoir of her family’s escape from Laos and their year in a refugee camp and will be published in 2026. Bidania was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, where her family resettled as refugees after the Vietnam War. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Writing Fellow. She lives outside of the Twin Cities with her family.
Residency Board
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán (they/he) is a multimedia artist, activist/organizer, critic, and educator. A Tulsa Artist Fellow and National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, they are the author of the poetry/photography chapbooks, Archipiélagos; Inquillry; Antes y después del Bronx: Lenapehoking; and South Bronx Breathing Lessons. Bodhrán is editor of the first global queer/trans Indigenous collection, the international queer/trans Indigenous issue of Yellow Medicine Review; and co-editor of the Native dance/movement/performance issue of Movement Research Performance Journal. Co-founder of the world’s first transgender film festival, which became the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, they organized the world’s first transgender Arab roundtable dialogue for Sinister Wisdom. They have received scholarships and fellowships from CantoMundo, Macondo, Radius of Arab American Writers, Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, and Lambda Literary.
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán (they/he) is a multimedia artist, activist/organizer, critic, and educator. A Tulsa Artist Fellow and National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, they are the author of the poetry/photography chapbooks, Archipiélagos; Inquillry; Antes y después del Bronx: Lenapehoking; and South Bronx Breathing Lessons. Bodhrán is editor of the first global queer/trans Indigenous collection, the international queer/trans Indigenous issue of Yellow Medicine Review; and co-editor of the Native dance/movement/performance issue of Movement Research Performance Journal. Co-founder of the world’s first transgender film festival, which became the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, they organized the world’s first transgender Arab roundtable dialogue for Sinister Wisdom. They have received scholarships and fellowships from CantoMundo, Macondo, Radius of Arab American Writers, Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, and Lambda Literary.
Residency Board
Katherine Kassouf Cummings
Katherine Kassouf Cummings co-edits the Digital Press and leads the Question for a Resilient Future publication series as the Managing Editor at the Center for Humans and Nature. In 2019, Katherine developed Humans and Nature Press’s Editorial Fellows program where she collaborates with authors and artists to shape new conversations in environmental writing. She co-edited What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? (University of Chicago Press, 2021), and her collaborative work with artist Colleen Plumb Invisible, Visible was exhibited at Chicago’s Edelman Gallery and published in Orion Magazine. Katherine received her BA in Anthropology from Emory University and holds an editing certificate from the University of Chicago.
Katherine Kassouf Cummings
Katherine Kassouf Cummings co-edits the Digital Press and leads the Question for a Resilient Future publication series as the Managing Editor at the Center for Humans and Nature. In 2019, Katherine developed Humans and Nature Press’s Editorial Fellows program where she collaborates with authors and artists to shape new conversations in environmental writing. She co-edited What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? (University of Chicago Press, 2021), and her collaborative work with artist Colleen Plumb Invisible, Visible was exhibited at Chicago’s Edelman Gallery and published in Orion Magazine. Katherine received her BA in Anthropology from Emory University and holds an editing certificate from the University of Chicago.
Residency Board
Val Clarizio's Bio
Valerie Clarizio is a Door County native who attended Southern Door High School. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a Finance emphasis from Lakeland College. For the past twenty-three years, she has worked for the City of Sturgeon Bay as the Finance Director/Treasurer. Valerie has served on the Municipal Treasurers Association of Wisconsin Board in many capacities including holding the office of President during the 2016/2017 term. She continues to serve as a District Director.
When not crunching numbers for the city, Valerie can be found penning romance novels. She has a passion for writing as can be verified by her published accomplishments consisting of ten novels, three novellas, and three short stories. For almost ten years, Valerie was a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America where she served as the Treasurer during the 2016/2017 term.
Valerie is an outdoors enthusiast. In her free time, you'll find her and her husband of thirty years out hiking trails in national parks, state parks, or Door County land trusts. When not on land, you might find them on the water fishing for the ultimate Salmon, or kayaking inland lakes and tributaries.
Val Clarizio's Bio
Valerie Clarizio is a Door County native who attended Southern Door High School. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a Finance emphasis from Lakeland College. For the past twenty-three years, she has worked for the City of Sturgeon Bay as the Finance Director/Treasurer. Valerie has served on the Municipal Treasurers Association of Wisconsin Board in many capacities including holding the office of President during the 2016/2017 term. She continues to serve as a District Director.
When not crunching numbers for the city, Valerie can be found penning romance novels. She has a passion for writing as can be verified by her published accomplishments consisting of ten novels, three novellas, and three short stories. For almost ten years, Valerie was a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America where she served as the Treasurer during the 2016/2017 term.
Valerie is an outdoors enthusiast. In her free time, you'll find her and her husband of thirty years out hiking trails in national parks, state parks, or Door County land trusts. When not on land, you might find them on the water fishing for the ultimate Salmon, or kayaking inland lakes and tributaries.
Treasurer
Myles Dannhausen's Bio
Myles Dannhausen Jr. has loved the written word since his older sister gave him a copy of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders when he was 8 years old. An Egg Harbor native and Gibraltar High School graduate, he works as the Content Editor of the Peninsula Pulse and Door County Living magazine, where he has told the stories of Door County for 15 years. His writing has also appeared in Wisconsin People & Ideas, Edible, Chicago Athlete, GapersBlock, OnMilwaukee, Running Times, and several other regional publications. In 2013 he co-founded Peninsula Filmworks with Brett Kosmider and David Eliot to tell stories through video. Like everyone else, someday he'll write a book.
Myles Dannhausen's Bio
Myles Dannhausen Jr. has loved the written word since his older sister gave him a copy of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders when he was 8 years old. An Egg Harbor native and Gibraltar High School graduate, he works as the Content Editor of the Peninsula Pulse and Door County Living magazine, where he has told the stories of Door County for 15 years. His writing has also appeared in Wisconsin People & Ideas, Edible, Chicago Athlete, GapersBlock, OnMilwaukee, Running Times, and several other regional publications. In 2013 he co-founded Peninsula Filmworks with Brett Kosmider and David Eliot to tell stories through video. Like everyone else, someday he'll write a book.
Past President
Founding and Emeritus Board Member
Anika Fajardo, Residency Board
Anika Fajardo is the author of The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore, an International Latino Book Award Gold Medal winner. She is also the author of Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family, and the middle-grade novels What If a Fish and Meet Me Halfway. Born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota, she currently lives with her family in Minneapolis.
Anika Fajardo, Residency Board
Anika Fajardo is the author of The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore, an International Latino Book Award Gold Medal winner. She is also the author of Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family, and the middle-grade novels What If a Fish and Meet Me Halfway. Born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota, she currently lives with her family in Minneapolis.
Residency Board
Vinni Chomeau Bio
As Friends of Gibraltar Project Coordinator for the past 18 years at Gibraltar Area School District, Vinni has coordinated many community-based programs and projects with students, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Her projects are for students in grade levels 4K-12 and are based on experiential education.
She also works for the Door Community Auditorium as a project coordinator for youth. She spends summers working at Edgewood Orchard Galleries. She is presently elected as a county board and a town board representative in Door County.
As a Conservationist with the Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department (SWCD) she worked on ground and surface water quality issues, invasive species, and general land management practices, and provided educational programs on water quality and conservation.
Vinni Chomeau Bio
A founding board member, Vinni Chomeau runs the Friends of Gibraltar and has returned to our Board after a year's sabbatical.
Ann Heyse Biography
Ann Heyse Biography
Secretary
Nicole Homer, Residency Board
Nicole Homer, Residency Board
Residency Board
Margaret LeBrun's Bio
Margaret LeBrun grew up in Southern Door County. As co-founder, former publisher and executive editor of Insight Publications, a business-to-business publishing and events company in Northeast Wisconsin, she produced the monthly Insight magazine, featuring the region's top companies and their CEOs. She has worked as a reporter, editor and writing coach for newspapers in Wisconsin and New York, receiving numerous state and national awards for her writing.
Margaret has served on the boards of the Fox Cities YMCA and Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin, as well as the marketing committee for New North, Inc. She received the Athena Leadership Award in 2014 from the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and was named to the Southern Door High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015.
She received her degree in journalism from UW-Eau Claire. After living in Upstate New York for many years with her husband, Dave Allen, the couple moved to Appleton. In recent years they have spent time at their cottage in Sturgeon Bay, where they plan to eventually live when they're not traveling. Their young adult sons live in Madison and Colorado Springs.
Growing up on the bay in Door County, I was fortunate to be introduced to the arts at an early age. Words are my passion, and helping other writers hone their craft feeds my soul. Upon selling my business magazine to my partner in 2018, I searched for my new "tribe" … and I think I found it with Write On, Door County!
Margaret LeBrun's Bio
Margaret LeBrun grew up in Southern Door County. As co-founder, former publisher and executive editor of Insight Publications, a business-to-business publishing and events company in Northeast Wisconsin, she produced the monthly Insight magazine, featuring the region's top companies and their CEOs. She has worked as a reporter, editor and writing coach for newspapers in Wisconsin and New York, receiving numerous state and national awards for her writing.
Margaret has served on the boards of the Fox Cities YMCA and Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin, as well as the marketing committee for New North, Inc. She received the Athena Leadership Award in 2014 from the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and was named to the Southern Door High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015.
She received her degree in journalism from UW-Eau Claire. After living in Upstate New York for many years with her husband, Dave Allen, the couple moved to Appleton. In recent years they have spent time at their cottage in Sturgeon Bay, where they plan to eventually live when they're not traveling. Their young adult sons live in Madison and Colorado Springs.
Growing up on the bay in Door County, I was fortunate to be introduced to the arts at an early age. Words are my passion, and helping other writers hone their craft feeds my soul. Upon selling my business magazine to my partner in 2018, I searched for my new "tribe" … and I think I found it with Write On, Door County!
President
Morgan Mann's Bio
Graduating from the Art Institute of Colorado and working in the field of advertising and marketing for a decade, Morgan Mann moved to Door County in 2006 after marrying a local 4th generation Door County native. While helping to raise a family, Ms. Mann freelanced in graphic design, web design and SEO marketing, in addition to teaching classes at NTWC within the Business School. She currently works at the Door County Library as Head of Circulation, where she oversees 10 employees. Although she does not consider herself a writer, she appreciates the creative spirit and believes the world needs stories to be told, written, read, and shared.
Morgan Mann's Bio
Graduating from the Art Institute of Colorado and working in the field of advertising and marketing for a decade, Morgan Mann moved to Door County in 2006 after marrying a local 4th generation Door County native. While helping to raise a family, Ms. Mann freelanced in graphic design, web design and SEO marketing, in addition to teaching classes at NTWC within the Business School. She currently works at the Door County Library as Head of Circulation, where she oversees 10 employees. Although she does not consider herself a writer, she appreciates the creative spirit and believes the world needs stories to be told, written, read, and shared.
Benjamin Martin
Ben is a student at Sevastopol High School in the class of 2026. He has written three fantasy novels, all currently unpublished, and is working on his fourth. He is a lover of all things fantasy; J. R. R. Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, and Patrick Rothfuss are among his favorite authors. Ben serves as the student representative on Write On, Door County’s Board of Directors. He wants to show teenagers the beauty of literature and encourage them to be creative. When not in school, Ben is probably pursuing his love of theology, hanging out with friends, working on novels, or immersed in a good story. His goal in service is summed up by the prophet Micah: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly.
Emily Stousland Bio
Emily Stousland is a Wisconsin native and an educator with over 25 years of experience. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education at St. Norbert College and her Masters at Silver Lake College. Her interests include reading, writing, hiking, and travel, having explored over thirty countries on five continents with her family.
Kevin O’Donnell Bio
Kevin O’Donnell is an award-winning author and professional photographer, a YouTube content creator, a masterful story-teller, and a year-round resident of Door County, Wisconsin.
Retired since 2018 as a principal engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, his 37-year career led to considerable international travel. This kindled his interest in photography, writing and story-telling, expanded his world view, and exposed him to an assortment of cultures, histories, and landscapes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, about which he has written and photographed extensively.
As an author, O’Donnell wrote regularly for several industry trade magazines and published two books: “Fadó—a memoir of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Xlibris) and “Cold Chain Chronicles—a practitioners outside-the-box perspectives on the importance of temperature-sensitive drug stewardship” (DHI publishing), which won “international author of the year award” from the Parenteral Drug Association. The book is used in academia by pharmacy schools, the World Health Organization, and throughout the pharmaceutical industry as a guide to good vaccine quality management practices.
In his 2024 coffee table book of photographs and original essays: Behind The Door — Profiles of a Peninsula, O’Donnell provides an insiders view of the unique hidden places, history, and people of the Door peninsula not typically seen by visitors. The book has garnered multiple national and international independent publishing awards for content and design including Best Regional Book - non-fiction.
Kevin, and his wife, Colleen, are active, full-time residents of Clay Banks in Southern Door.
Kevin O’Donnell Bio
Kevin O’Donnell is an award-winning author and professional photographer, a YouTube content creator, a masterful story-teller, and a year-round resident of Door County, Wisconsin.
Retired since 2018 as a principal engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, his 37-year career led to considerable international travel. This kindled his interest in photography, writing and story-telling, expanded his world view, and exposed him to an assortment of cultures, histories, and landscapes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, about which he has written and photographed extensively.
As an author, O’Donnell wrote regularly for several industry trade magazines and published two books: “Fadó—a memoir of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Xlibris) and “Cold Chain Chronicles—a practitioners outside-the-box perspectives on the importance of temperature-sensitive drug stewardship” (DHI publishing), which won “international author of the year award” from the Parenteral Drug Association. The book is used in academia by pharmacy schools, the World Health Organization, and throughout the pharmaceutical industry as a guide to good vaccine quality management practices.
In his 2024 coffee table book of photographs and original essays: Behind The Door — Profiles of a Peninsula, O’Donnell provides an insiders view of the unique hidden places, history, and people of the Door peninsula not typically seen by visitors. The book has garnered multiple national and international independent publishing awards for content and design including Best Regional Book - non-fiction.
Kevin, and his wife, Colleen, are active, full-time residents of Clay Banks in Southern Door.
Maryanne O’Dowd Bio
Maryanne Giustino O’Dowd has deep expertise in integrated marketing planning and media
relations strategy, informed by decades of work in corporate and mission-driven environments.
Since retiring from a full-time corporate role, Maryanne has provided crisis/issues counsel and
training to a select group of national and global clients. She devotes much of her professional
energy to civic and community-based organizations, where she serves in multiple leadership
capacities, including:
• League of Women Voters of Door County — Leadership Team, Programs Chair
• Friends of Door County Libraries — Board Member
• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County — Chair, Outreach Steering
Committee
• Sister Bay & Liberty Grove Fire Department History Project — Project Director
• United Way of Door County — Grant Review Committee (2023–2024)
• Greater Escarpment Organization of Door County — Board Member, 2021–2025
Maryanne began her career in journalism, and her news and feature stories appeared in
Chicago-area publications, including the Chicago Tribune, the Suburban Chicago Sun-Times,
the Lerner Newspaper Group, and the Journal-Topics newspapers. She is in the process of
completing her first novel.
After more than 50 years as a Chicagoan, Maryanne now resides full-time in beautiful Door
County, Wisconsin, with her husband, Eamon O’Dowd, and their lovable Goldendoodle, Devin.
Maryanne O’Dowd Bio
Maryanne Giustino O’Dowd has deep expertise in integrated marketing planning and media
relations strategy, informed by decades of work in corporate and mission-driven environments.
Since retiring from a full-time corporate role, Maryanne has provided crisis/issues counsel and
training to a select group of national and global clients. She devotes much of her professional
energy to civic and community-based organizations, where she serves in multiple leadership
capacities, including:
• League of Women Voters of Door County — Leadership Team, Programs Chair
• Friends of Door County Libraries — Board Member
• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County — Chair, Outreach Steering
Committee
• Sister Bay & Liberty Grove Fire Department History Project — Project Director
• United Way of Door County — Grant Review Committee (2023–2024)
• Greater Escarpment Organization of Door County — Board Member, 2021–2025
Maryanne began her career in journalism, and her news and feature stories appeared in
Chicago-area publications, including the Chicago Tribune, the Suburban Chicago Sun-Times,
the Lerner Newspaper Group, and the Journal-Topics newspapers. She is in the process of
completing her first novel.
After more than 50 years as a Chicagoan, Maryanne now resides full-time in beautiful Door
County, Wisconsin, with her husband, Eamon O’Dowd, and their lovable Goldendoodle, Devin.
Shaun Melarvie
Shaun Melarvie is a rural general surgeon living in Door County, WI. His native state is North Dakota, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of ND with a major in English Literature and minors in Biology and Chemistry. He has been in private practice for thirty years in Sturgeon Bay that geographic sweet spot situated north of the bridge connecting the distal landmass to the proximal that separates the bay of Green Bay from the waters of Lake Michigan. In 2024, Dr. Melarvie partially retired and has had more time to contribute to a lifelong goal of writing a novel. Shaun has published The Fat Thief and The Relativity Diet (out of print), two works of non-fiction in the self-help genre.
Shaun Melarvie
Shaun Melarvie is a rural general surgeon living in Door County, WI. His native state is North Dakota, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of ND with a major in English Literature and minors in Biology and Chemistry. He has been in private practice for thirty years in Sturgeon Bay that geographic sweet spot situated north of the bridge connecting the distal landmass to the proximal that separates the bay of Green Bay from the waters of Lake Michigan. In 2024, Dr. Melarvie partially retired and has had more time to contribute to a lifelong goal of writing a novel. Shaun has published The Fat Thief and The Relativity Diet (out of print), two works of non-fiction in the self-help genre.
Dee Paulsen's Bio
Dee Paulsen has lived in Sturgeon Bay since 1982, with her husband Eric. They have two grown married children, son Nels and daughter Annika, two grandchildren and one granddog. Dee has a B.S. in Elementary/Special Education from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh and an M.S. in Education with an emphasis on children's literature from Viterbo College. She has taught for 23 years in grades 2, 3 and 6, (her heart is still in 6th grade Language Arts) and has worked as an office manager for Crown Life Insurance and Door County Eye Associates. Her interests include travel, reading, writing poetry, visiting elementary classrooms to read and do writing projects, and organizing gatherings with friends.
"I love encouraging folks of all ages and abilities to 'write it down.' I love words! I believe writing can be interesting, humorous, serious, and healing. I think every person has something to learn about themselves through writing - just to keep to themselves or to share. Everyone indeed has a story to tell."
Dee Paulsen's Bio
Dee Paulsen has lived in Sturgeon Bay since 1982, with her husband Eric. They have two grown married children, son Nels and daughter Annika, two grandchildren and one granddog. Dee has a B.S. in Elementary/Special Education from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh and an M.S. in Education with an emphasis on children's literature from Viterbo College. She has taught for 23 years in grades 2, 3 and 6, (her heart is still in 6th grade Language Arts) and has worked as an office manager for Crown Life Insurance and Door County Eye Associates. Her interests include travel, reading, writing poetry, visiting elementary classrooms to read and do writing projects, and organizing gatherings with friends.
"I love encouraging folks of all ages and abilities to 'write it down.' I love words! I believe writing can be interesting, humorous, serious, and healing. I think every person has something to learn about themselves through writing - just to keep to themselves or to share. Everyone indeed has a story to tell."
Founding and Emeritus Board Member
Alessandra Simmons Rolffs' Bio
Alessandra and her husband came to Washington Island to grow vegetables for Hotel Washington for the summer season in 2015. After their first two growing seasons on the Island, they decided to move to the Island full-time. They started Hoot Blossom Farm, which now grows veggies, herbs, and flowers for Island residents and restaurants. Alessandra and her husband also helped found Gathering Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating community and learning in partnership with the generous earth through agriculture. She currently serves as its part-time executive director.
Alessandra holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and an MFA in poetry from Indiana University. She has poems published in anthologies and literary journals such as Rewilding: Poems for the Environment, Smartish Pace, Spillway, and others. She writes a column for the Washington Island Observer called Everyday Nature that mixes two of her loves - poetry, and nature.
Alessandra Simmons Rolffs' Bio
Alessandra and her husband came to Washington Island to grow vegetables for Hotel Washington for the summer season in 2015. After their first two growing seasons on the Island, they decided to move to the Island full-time. They started Hoot Blossom Farm, which now grows veggies, herbs, and flowers for Island residents and restaurants. Alessandra and her husband also helped found Gathering Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating community and learning in partnership with the generous earth through agriculture. She currently serves as its part-time executive director.
Alessandra holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and an MFA in poetry from Indiana University. She has poems published in anthologies and literary journals such as Rewilding: Poems for the Environment, Smartish Pace, Spillway, and others. She writes a column for the Washington Island Observer called Everyday Nature that mixes two of her loves - poetry, and nature.
Ira Sukrungruang's Bio
Ira Sukrungruang is the author of four nonfiction books, This Jade World, Buddha’s Dog & Other Meditations, Southside Buddhist, and Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist; the short story collection The Melting Season; and the poetry collection In Thailand It Is Night. His work has appeared in many literary journals, including The Rumpus, American Poetry Review, The Sun, and Creative Nonfiction. He is one of the founding editors of Sweet: A Literary Confection and is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College.
Ira Sukrungruang's Bio
Ira Sukrungruang is the author of four nonfiction books, This Jade World, Buddha’s Dog & Other Meditations, Southside Buddhist, and Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist; the short story collection The Melting Season; and the poetry collection In Thailand It Is Night. His work has appeared in many literary journals, including The Rumpus, American Poetry Review, The Sun, and Creative Nonfiction. He is one of the founding editors of Sweet: A Literary Confection and is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College.
Residency Board
Jenn Alandy Trahan's Bio
Jenn Alandy Trahan earned her BA from the University of California, Irvine, and her MA and MFA from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Fiction brought Jenn to Stanford University, where she continues to teach as a Jones Lecturer. Jenn’s work has also been supported by the Community of Writers, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Laugarvatn, Iceland, Plympton and The Writer’s Block Downtown fellowships in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Edith Wharton & Straw Dog Writers Guild Writer-in-Residence Program in Lenox, Massachusetts, Cultivate’s La Baldi Residency in Montegiovi, Italy, and Write On, Door County, in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Her fiction can be found in Permafrost, Blue Mesa Review, Harper’s, One Story, and The Best American Short Stories.
Jenn Alandy Trahan's Bio
Jenn Alandy Trahan earned her BA from the University of California, Irvine, and her MA and MFA from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Fiction brought Jenn to Stanford University, where she continues to teach as a Jones Lecturer. Jenn’s work has also been supported by the Community of Writers, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Laugarvatn, Iceland, Plympton and The Writer’s Block Downtown fellowships in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Edith Wharton & Straw Dog Writers Guild Writer-in-Residence Program in Lenox, Massachusetts, Cultivate’s La Baldi Residency in Montegiovi, Italy, and Write On, Door County, in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Her fiction can be found in Permafrost, Blue Mesa Review, Harper’s, One Story, and The Best American Short Stories.
Residency Board