Our Team

Co-op Program Assistant

BEN IS A THIRD YEAR DREXEL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR WORKING WITH WRITERS ROOM FOR HIS FALL/WINTER CO-OP. BEN IS PASSIONATE ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INCORPORATING ART INTO HIS EVERYDAY LIFE.

AmeriCorps VISTA

NOEL IS A POET, SPOKEN WORD ARTIST, AND AUTHOR CURRENTLY PURSUING A B.S. IN PSYCHOLOGY. SHE HOPES TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE THERAPY AND ART MEET TO ENCOURAGE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND SELF DEVELOPMENT. SHE WILL BE WORKING WITH SECOND STORY COLLECTIVE.

Operations Manager

JESSICA IS THE OPERATIONS MANAGER AT WRITERS ROOM SUPPORTING THE GREAT IDEAS AND SMALL DETAILS. THE THREAD THAT TIES TOGETHER HER LIFE EXPERIENCES AND PULLS HER FORWARD IS THE DESIRE TO CREATE SOCIAL CHANGE AND UPLIFT THE HUMAN HEART THROUGH ART AND CREATIVITY.

Community Engagement Liaison

VICTORIA HUGGINS PEURIFOY IS A RECENT GRADUATE OF PEIRCE COLLEGE RECEIVING A BS IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP. SHE IS A WRITERS ROOM FOUNDING MEMBER, AN AUTHOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, POET, AND SPOKEN WORD ARTIST. FOR 14 YEARS, SHE FACILITATED A SENIOR CITIZEN POETRY AND DISCUSSION GROUP AND CO-FACILITATES A STORYTELLING GROUP CALLED THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE SO FAR. SHE IS THE MOTHER OF THREE AND GRANDMOTHER TO TEN.

Archivist and AmeriCorps Seniors Researcher

CAROL RICHARDSON MCCULLOUGH IS A RETIRED ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER BY TRADE AND A POET/MEMOIRIST AT HEART. SHE IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF WRITERS ROOM AT DREXEL UNIVERSITY AND A FORMER TRIPOD WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE. SHE IS CURRENTLY A COMMUNITY RESEARCHER WITH THE JUSTICE-ORIENTED YOUTH (JOY) EDUCATION LAB AT DREXEL’S SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, AS WELL AS WRITERS ROOM ARCHIVIST. HER WRITING INCLUDES A CHAPTER BOOK (IMPLOSION); POEMS, ESSAYS, AND MEMOIR. SHE’S PUBLISHED IN (WR) ANTHOLOGY, VOL. 1-9, AND THE 33RD; AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTION TO THE JOURNAL OF TRAUMA STUDIES IN EDUCATION (2022). THIS “WV MOUNTAIN MAMA TURNED PHILY JAWN” LOOKS FOR THE LYRICISM OF LIFE AND USUALLY FINDS IT IN A POEM.

Programs Manager

TEDDY IS THE PROGRAMS MANAGER AT WRITERS ROOM, BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH PUBLIC PROGRAMMING. HE IS AN ARTIST, EDUCATOR, AND ADMINISTRATOR, AND IS EXCITED TO WEAR ALL THOSE HATS WITH WRITERS ROOM. TEDDY COMPLETED HIS MFA IN CERAMICS AT TYLER SCHOOL OF ART & ARCHITECTURE, AND HIS CREATIVITY IS CURRENTLY SPLIT BETWEEN THE STUDIO AND KITCHEN - BOTH PRACTICES CENTERED ON BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER OVER A MEAL.  

Teaching Artist

GABRIELE ENJOYS TRYING (AND FAILING) TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, TRYING (AND FAILING) TO VISIT PLACES FOR THE FIRST TIME WITHOUT CONSULTING A MAP, AND ALSO LEARNING (BUT THEN FORGETTING) RARELY USED REGIONALLY-SPECIFIC IDIOMS. WHEN NOT WRITING, YOU WILL MOST OFTEN FIND THEM EITHER IN A KITCHEN AT THE STOVE OR SAT NEAR A BOOKCASE WITH A PILE OF MARKERS AT THEIR FEET. THEY ARE A PESSIMIST IF THEY'RE NOT CAREFUL. SOME THINGS THAT GABRIELE HAS WRITTEN HAVE BEEN PERFORMED/WORKSHOPPED ON STAGES IN BOSTON, NEW YORK, WINSTON-SALEM, BERLIN, AND PHILADELPHIA: IF YOU'RE CURIOUS, FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM ABOUT IT.

Student Engagement Liaison

IOANA IS FROM BUCHAREST, ROMANIA AND SAYS SHE HAS FOUND HER TRUE CREATIVE SELF IN PHILLY. SHE IS PART OF DREXEL'S RADIO STATION, WKDU, AND THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER, THE TRIANGLE. SHE LOVES ALL THINGS MUSIC AND JOURNALISM.

Arts Operations Coordinator

SOFIE IS AN EDUCATOR, ARTIST, AND SOMEONE WHO LIVES AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE TWO. THEY ARE INTERESTED IN HOW COMMUNITIES CAN USE ART TO DESCRIBE AND TO TANGIBLY BUILD THE WORLD THEY WISH TO LIVE IN. A FORMER PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER, THEY ARE THRILLED TO CONTINUE SERVING THE PHILLY COMMUNITY.

Americorps VISTA

JAYLA SERVES AS AN AMERICORPS VISTA AT THE LINDY CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT COLLABORATING WITH WRITERS ROOM TO SUPPORT UNMAPPING COURSES THIS YEAR. SHE IS DEDICATED TO UTILIZING THE ARTS AS A FORM OF ACTIVISM, COMMUNITY BUILDING, AND AS A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.

Founding Director

RACHEL HAS WORKED AS A WAITRESS, A ROOFER, AND A TEACHER. ALL OF THESE JOBS REQUIRED PAYING ATTENTION. BEING A WRITER HAS TRAINED HER TO LOOK FOR THE THROUGH-LINES THAT INTERSECT TO MAKE A LARGER NARRATIVE. SHE RECEIVED AN MFA FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND IS CO-AUTHOR OF SINGER AND ACTIVIST ANGELIQUE KIDJO’S MEMOIR, SPIRIT RISING.