Free Verse Staff
Nora Gibbons (she/her) has worked with young people in a variety of settings in Montana and abroad as an educator, facilitator, researcher, and administrator. Most of her past work has focused on the self-directed education movement. Nora is excited to work with Free Verse students and hold a space where they can feel empowered, creative, and free. Nora is passionate about restorative and transformative justice and the rights of young people. She also loves trying new recipes and practicing acro-yoga/being upside down in general.
Alyx Chandler (she/her) is a writer from Alabama who now lives and works in Chicago. She received her MFA in poetry at the University of Montana, where she was a Richard Hugo Fellow and taught composition and poetry. She then served in Americorps for a year with Missoula Writing Collaborative and Free Verse Writing Project, which she still works for today as a remote workshop facilitator in Montana shelters, youth homes, and detention centers. She also works as a poet-in-residence for the Chicago Poetry Center, where she teaches grade school students poetry. Her poetry can be found in the Southern Poetry Anthology, Greensboro Review, SWWIM, Penn Review, Epoch Magazine, and elsewhere at alyxchandler.com. In addition, she has had a keen interest in sharks, and she would one day like to peacefully swim with some in the ocean.
Taylor Stein White (she/her) has taught creative writing classes with the Free Verse Writing Project for 8 years. She found Missoula through the MFA program at the University of Montana, where she served as Fiction Editor for Cutbank Literary Magazine. Two of her flash fiction pieces, "Minx, Siren, Norman, Stone" and "Apply Chapstick and Try Again," are available in the Word Dog Quarterly and her short story "The Wilting House on the Mountain" can be read in Duplicitous: A WriteHive Compilation. Taylor also writes and illustrates zines and art books, check ‘em out at steintaylor.com! You can also sign up for her latest adventure there—Wonder-Gizmos A Snail Mail Creative Writing Club & Whimsy Machine—which delivers writing prompts, curiosity, and adorable absurdity to your real, three-dimensional mailbox every month.
Seeley Davidson (she/her) made Missoula home after graduating from Long Island University Global with a BA in Global Studies. She has worked as a farmhouse cook in rural New Zealand, a curator’s assistant at a dusty historic foundation in Italy, a caseworker with survivors of domestic violence and unhoused neighbors in her hometown of Minneapolis, and a baking assistant. For the last two years, Seeley has worked in communications and outreach at a clinic in Missoula. Seeley is a home cook, amateur illustrator, and avid learner. She is fueled by food stories and traditions, community care, and fiction podcasts.
Bonita (she/they) is originally from Wisconsin, but has made Montana home after serving for the Montana Conservation Corps in 2018 & 2019. They have dedicated many years to education, both in the public sector as well as in experiential/outdoor education positions. She is passionate about innovative education which aims to light a fire inside her students. Bonita is also a practicing herbalist and a Green Path Herb School graduate. She strongly believes that connecting folks to non-human nature is a birthright. Something that lights her up is empowering youth with plant connection and knowledge. Bonita has a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin--Oshkosh. There, she focused her studies on botany, community outreach and education, environmental justice, and place-based education. This background inspires her to cultivate learning approaches which incorporate the natural world, community, and cultural context of her students. Their free time is filled by connecting with plant friends, reading about holistic healing approaches, knitting, dancing, and taking slow walks through Greenough Park. Bonita’s favorite thing about Free Verse is carving out space for students to share their truth—whether it’s through writing, drawing, discussion, or other creative outlets. They enjoy working in a learning setting where students aren’t forced to “do work,” but rather invited to participate in creative inquiry. Outside of Free Verse they work as an herbalist and energy healer, inviting folx to slow down, tap into their most authentic selves, and create a deep connection to the natural world. More info on these pursuits here, www.bonitasbotanicals.com .
Winona Rachel (they/them) found their way to Montana from the midwest and worked in small-scale agriculture before joining Free Verse. Outside of Free Verse, they work as a climate organizer with parents and caregivers. Winona enjoys baking bread, crocheting, mountain biking, and running.
caroline ganci patterson (they/she) is a poet who grew up in the suburbs of washington, dc. they own a turtleneck in every color, except yellow. in their early adulthood, they worked at a book bank and for the county executive office in baltimore, where they studied sociology and anthropology at a liberal arts school and lived in a house filled with men who played the guitar too much. they moved to montana to work on a suicide prevention public awareness campaign, and later completed their mfa at the university of montana, where they taught writing courses and served as poetry editor for cutbank literary magazine. they have been a kratz summer writing fellow. their poetry has been supported by the eleanor denoon poetry prize and greta wrolstad travel award. their poems have appeared or are forthcoming in the columbia review, bullshit lit, phoebe, little patuxent review, allium, reed magazine and more. they reside in missoula, montana, where they teach poetry in juvenile detention facilities and psychiatric units. their other job involves folding greeting cards at a letterpress. they live in a house where everyone is trying to learn to play the banjo. they enjoy sudoku, the new yorker crossword, and asking questions.
Board of Directors
President
Zuri Moreno (they/them) is a poet, artist, and community organizer. They graduated from Cornell University with a focus on behavioral sciences and conservation - and then spent 8 years wandering through landscapes with trail crews in New Hampshire, Nevada, California, and Montana. In 2017, Zuri became a vocal advocate on issues impacting the LGBTQ community and the rights of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. They have previously served on the Montana Environmental Information Center and Forward Montana boards, and have organized grassroots efforts during legislative sessions and judicial campaigns. Zuri spends most of their time at home with their cats and partner, or out lost in the trees.
Vice President
Leo Keiser (he/him) is a behavioral health therapist at Fourth Street Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah, which provides healthcare for unhoused individuals and families. He has a background in working with people who use drugs, people seeking recovery, and harm reduction. In his free time, he enjoys fly fishing, cooking, and reading.
Chelsea Wittman (she/her), Treasurer
Board Member
Emmie Bristow (she/her) has years of experience in community engagement and currently works in book publishing at Farcountry Press in Helena, Montana. She holds a Bachelor's degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Montana as well as a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Drew University. Emmie has had poetry published in lots of little presses and magazines, most of which you probably haven't heard of, but if you're curious, they are listed on her website at https://elbristow.com. Emmie grew up in Helena, Montana, and lived in Missoula for ten years during and after her time in college, from 2014 to 2024. Though she currently lives in Helena again, Missoula will always hold a special place in her heart. Emmie learned about Free Verse years ago while studying at UM when fellow board member, Sarah Kahn, started it up. A few years later, she nearly became a teacher for Free Verse in pre-COVID times. When COVID put the kibosh on those plans, Emmie was glad to see a few years after that, in 2024, that Free Verse was looking to build up and expand their board. She's super excited to finally be a part of this amazing nonprofit and help support their mission and goals. Outside of work and Free Verse, Emmie enjoys spending time with friends and family, binging TV shows, writing poetry, reading just about anything, and taking her dog, Daisy, on walks where the little chihuahua can bark at all the passersby and pee on every fence, bush, or tree.
Board Member
Ama Kyere (she/her) is a Maryland-based art therapist and counselor. Her private practice offers art therapy and transformative arts workshops. In the past, she provided trauma-informed art therapy and counseling services at schools, multiple juvenile detention facilities, a level one outpatient substance abuse treatment facility, and various other locations. Ama previously facilitated after school writing workshops for elementary and middle school students at three sites in southeast Washington DC.
Founder and Board Member
Sarah Kahn is the Interim Director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, a nonprofit that supports direct legal service providers and uses impact litigation and advocacy to protect the civil and human rights of immigrants, youth, and communities experiencing oppression. She was a Justice Catalyst Fellow at the ACLU of Southern California, where her work focused on decarceration and economic justice with a disability rights lens. Sarah founded Free Verse in 2014.