Rosemarie Dombrowski, PhD, Founding Director & Facilitator
Rosemarie Dombrowski is the founder and director of Revisionary Arts and the inaugural Poet Laureate of Phoenix, AZ. She is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the University of Arizona Biomedical campus (Phoenix); she also serves on their Narrative Medicine Advisory Board and is the faculty editor of Grey Matter, the school’s medical poetry journal. She’s also a Principal Lecturer at Arizona State University (Downtown Phoenix campus), where she teaches literature, creative writing, and Medical Humanities courses.
Rosemarie’s scholarship and creative work lies at the intersection of poetry, medicine, and disability. Accordingly, her first collection, The Book of Emergencies (Five Oaks Press, 2014), is a lyrical exploration of congenital disorders as well as nonverbal Autism, both of which afflict her son (now 23).
After 20 years as a community and university-based literary arts educator and program developer, Rosemarie is the recipient of an Arts Hero Award, a Women & Philanthropy grant, a Fellowship from the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, and a Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. In 2020, she was named one of The Great 48 by Phoenix Magazine.
Rosemarie holds BAs in Anthropology and English as well as a PhD in American Literature with an emphasis in poetry. Her work has been featured in visual art exhibits, journals, anthologies, newspapers, magazines, and zines; at civic and creative events, university and community events, national conferences and local festivals. In April 2022, she gave a TEDx talk entitled “The Medicinal Power of Poetry”.
Learn more about her work at rdpoet.com
Melissa Leto, Lead Facilitator
Melissa Leto is a writer from New York who now lives near the Beeline Highway and Salt River. She holds an MFA from Northern Arizona University and her work has appeared in Four Chambers Press and Shrew Lit Magazine. Her narratives and poems distill her experiences of trauma, grief, and joy as well as they celebrate nature and queer love. In addition to being a facilitator for Revisionary Arts, she is an editor for Rinky Dink Press and writes for several local businesses committed to positive change in the communities they occupy.
Debbi O’Der, Facilitator
Debbi O’Der is a lifelong learner who started her poetry journey at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts over 40 years ago, where she graduated with Honors. She continues to study and participate in workshops throughout the valley. While often described as funny and lighthearted, much of her work involves the processing of trauma and loss.
Debbi’s current mission is to bring poetry therapy to communities that have not had access to the self-expression and personal development that poetry affords us. When not working on her poetry and a memoir, Debbi loves to watch movies and listen to live music, especially the blues. She also is a “rescue fail” who has been adopted by four cats and three dogs.
Alyssa Klink, Outreach Coordinator & Facilitator
Alyssa Klink received her undergraduate degree in journalism and political science from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication in the spring of 2020. Since graduating, she has become Revisionary Art’s Impact & Outreach Coordinator, as well as one of the non-profit’s board members. While in school, she worked as an editor for ASU’s Write On, Downtown publication. Alyssa has been writing prose and poetry for a few years, and worked with her honors professor, who is also the founder of Revisionary Arts, to implement poetry workshops at the University of Arizona medical school in downtown Phoenix.
Alyssa believes that bringing poetry therapy to various Phoenix communities, especially in the era of COVID, will aid to heal and support those who seek an alternative type of therapeutic process. When she’s not reading or writing, Alyssa loves to ski, sing, play the piano, and go hiking.
Mara-Clarisa Boiangiu, Social Media Coordinator & Facilitator
Mara Boiangiu is a student intern with Revisionary Arts as a Neuroscience and Global Health major within Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University. As an incoming senior, Mara spends her time working with nonprofit organizations, conducting research at the Biodesign Institute and leading various orgs on and off campus. In her free time, she, of course, loves to write poetry, take pictures and travel. Being a pre-medicine student, the intersection between poetry and medicine is what drew her to Revisionary Arts and she hopes to continue to explore this passion in the future working with RA.
Emilie Lu, Intern Supervisor & Facilitator
Emilie Lu is a graduate of Arizona State University and Barrett, the Honors College who enjoys dancing between the lines of science and art. She earned a degree in Medical studies in May 2021 and is a creative nonfiction writer and also dabbles in other art like watercolor painting, drawing, pen doodling, and playing piano.
Bailey Adams, Facilitator
Bailey Adams received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State in the spring of 2022. Bailey is currently applying to graduate programs in marriage and family counseling and wants to specialize in LGBTQIA+ and identity-related struggles. Bailey is particularly interested in blending various forms of therapy and is currently trying to use these combinations to provide a more personalized therapy experience. In addition to writing poetry, Bailey enjoys hiking, rock climbing, drawing, and kayaking. Her favorite colors are teal and lavender, and she loves cats and octopuses!
Rebecca Fish Ewan, Guest Facilitator
Rebecca Fish Ewan, a poet/cartoonist/writer and founder of Plankton Press, teaches landscape architecture at Arizona State University (her creative writing MFA home). She grew up in Berkeley, California, and now lives in Tempe with her family. Her cartoon/free verse memoir, By the Forces of Gravity, is her grief response to a childhood trauma. Her new book, Doodling for Writers, just released through Books by Hippocampus. You can connect with her at rebeccafishewan.com or on IG @doodlescriptorium
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