Meet the Staff

Amy Rosenbluth
Executive Director / arosenbluth@lakeerieink.org

Reaching out, stepping back; letting go

Amy Rosenbluth has worked with youth during both in-school and out-of- school time programs since 1991. She created the Youth Leadership group and mentoring program for the Shaker Heights Youth Center and has been facilitating Teen Poetry Slams in the Heights area for over 18 years. A credentialed 7-12 English teacher and prevention certified youth advocate, Amy is co-founder and oversees all operations of Lake Erie Ink. She still works directly with youth, primarily teen poets, facilitating writing and spoken word workshops, both on site and off. Amy also designs and facilitates professional development workshops for teachers and other youth serving professionals. Amy has been teaching as adjunct English faculty at Lakeland Community College since 1998. She received her BA in English from Hiram College and her teaching certification and graduate work from San Francisco State University. Her training in Bay Area Writers’ Project has given her a passion for and strategies in incorporating writing throughout the curriculum. She believes that all youth have stories that deserve to be heard and uses creative writing as a way to make that happen.

Aaron Babcock
Creative Arts Teacher

Writing to understand the world anew…

Aaron recently completed his PhD in English Literature at Ohio University where he taught Composition and Literature classes. He also earned a BA in English and History from Denison University and an MA in English Literature from John Carroll University. Aaron passionately believes that reading and writing provide invaluable opportunities to reconceptualize the world around us, to challenge ourselves to become better members of our communities, and to recognize and acknowledge experiences different from our own. As such, Aaron is excited by the opportunities provided at Lake Erie Ink to prompt students to pose questions about their world and to imagine how we might tell stories about others and ourselves.

Charisse Bailey
Director of Programs

A soul full of beautiful dichotomies. 

Charisse began writing as a child and continued  into adulthood as a way to self-reflect and invite growth into my daily life. She am a proud Falcon of Bowling Green State University where she spent many days hiding in a corner studying for exams. Eventually, Charisse started developing programs on an 80-acre rehabilitation farm and her journey keeps turning pages. Charisse prides herself in being a renaissance woman, jack of all trades, pull up your sleeve kind of person who is fully committed to community and youth development. 

Cynthia Larsen
Education Director / clarsen@lakeerieink.org

Hammering words, frame the new world

Cynthia Larsen is Lake Erie Ink’s co-founder and Education Director.  She holds a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing from Stanford University and a single subject teaching credential in English and Language Arts from San Francisco State University. Ms. Larsen taught secondary English in Jersey City, New Jersey; Oakland, California; and Cleveland, Ohio before attending graduate school at the University of Arizona, where she received her MFA in creative writing.  Ms. Larsen has facilitated project-based creative writing in collaboration with teachers for over ten years, combining her training in education with her passion for writing.  Ms. Larsen continues to stay abreast of new standards, methods and technology that helps Lake Erie Ink best meet the needs of youth and educators.  At Lake Erie Ink, Ms. Larsen develops and implements creative writing curriculum that supports and meets the educational state standards for English and Language Arts.

Eli Millette
Marketing and Communications Manager / eli@lakeerieink.org

Writing is the action of believing

Eli has been writing plays since high school and has been published three times. He believes in the power of editing, revising, and discipline when it comes to his work. Eli has a BA in psychology and is working toward a masters degree in library science. He sees his role as ensuring the work Lake Erie Ink does behind the scenes doesn’t go unnoticed and unappreciated by the general public. He believes that writing is as therapeutic as it is artistic and hopes that through creative writing workshops kids find the power in their own words. Eli also is an avid coffee drinker and could use all the help he could get to cut back. Contact Eli with marketing and communication concerns.

Jarod “Od” Perry-Richardson
Creative Arts Teacher

Sitting down sketching, away like always

Jarod “Od” Perry-Richardson is a Program Assistant at Lake Erie Ink. Beginning his time at LEI as a volunteer, Od eventually joined the LEI family as a teacher. As a graduate at the Cleveland Institute of Art Od brings his artistic experience and love of the arts to the table. When he isn’t busy teaching or drawing, Od can be found at one of Cleveland’s many concert venues. He believes that visual arts and creative writing are invaluable expressive outlets for which the youth can channel their creativity and let it burst out in all directions. 

Amy Schwabauer
Creative Arts Teacher

Your Story Matters, so Write It

Amy Schwabauer is a Cleveland based actor, playwright, and teaching artist. Recent credits include: Writing and performing her one woman show “This is NOT About My Dead Dog” at the Borderlight International Theatre and Fringe Festival Cleveland (July 2019), presenting her latest work in progress “The Prettiest Little Burden” in PEI, Canada (June 2019), touring “The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut”, a table top, toy theater adventure co-written and co-performed with Mike Geither (2015-2018).  She regularly writes 10-minute plays for Cleveland’s Manhattan Project staged reading series. Playing ‘Feste’ in “Twelfth Night” with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival (2018). In 2017, she was named Cleveland’s Best Actress by ‘Cleveland Scene Magazine’ for her performance in “This is Not About my Dead Dog”.  She is a graduate of Cleveland State University’s Theatre Arts Program.   

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Zachary Schwartz
Creative Arts Teacher

Tell the truth even if controversial

Zachary Schwartz is a writer from Cleveland, Ohio. He has written feature stories for Rolling Stone, Playboy, Vice, as well as multiple cover stories for Cleveland Scene. He also helped found LEAP (LightHouse Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program), a program sponsored by Shaker LaunchHouse that was the first high school accelerator in the country, that helped hundreds of Cleveland high school students learn entrepreneurial, creative, and life skills. He graduated from Columbia University in 2017 with a degree in Visual Arts. Zach currently runs his own magazine, publishing his and others’ writing.

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Michelle R. Smith
Creative Writing Teacher

I process the world in poems.

Michelle R. Smith is a poet, blogger, educator, and cultural facilitator living in and working out of Twinsburg, OH. She has been published in poemmemoirstory; Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism; My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions from Black Daughters to Their Fathers; Guide to Kulchur Creative Journal; Kulchur Magazine; Howl, 2016! Poems, Rants, and Essays on the Election; The Normal School; and Gasconade Review. One of her favorite poems she ever wrote is called “#blackgirl”: I am not magic but/I am made of mettle/and still able to levitate. She considers creative writing not just a means of personal expression, but a tool for political empowerment and vehicle for social change.

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Abby Star
Development Manager / astar@lakeerieink.org

Be Goofy; go with the flow

Abby Star is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She received her BA in Studio Art from Carleton College in Minnesota. Following graduation, she stayed at Carleton for an extra year to work in the Studio Art Department as well as help to photograph Carleton’s permanent art collection. Abby has interned with the Wassaic Project, an arts organization in Wassaic, NY, helping to plan their annual summer festival featuring music, dance, art and film. She currently also works as the Development and Office Manager for GroundWorks DanceTheater, a local contemporary dance company.

Cliff Sweeney
Creative Arts Teacher

Artistic melodies, changes, time of king

Vivian Vail became a certified elementary teacher with a reading endorsement many years after earning a Master’s degree in dance.  Her experience teaching in various academic and community settings has taught Vivian that we all do better when we find our voice.  She loves to garden and makes a mean guacamole.

Patrick Warner
Creative Arts Teacher

I Find Freedom in Writing

Patrick, a musician/actor/poet from Cleveland, Ohio, has been a staple in the Cleveland creative scene for years. He is most proud of his word as an artist mentor for the hip hop group Refresh Collective. He began at Lake Erie Ink as a regular in their programs and when he got old enough Patrick was happy to come on as a staff member. Patrick believes it is inspiring to work with kids, teenagers, and adults and help them improve their writing. Patrick is also only interested in sports when he’s playing and doesn’t like to simply watch. His favorite sport is Ultimate Frisbee.