Who We Are – Lake Erie Ink

Staff

Amy Rosenbluth

Executive Director

Reaching out, stepping back; letting go

Amy Rosenbluth has worked with youth in school and out-of-school time programs since 1991. She created the Youth Leadership and mentoring programs for the Shaker Heights Youth Center and has facilitated Teen Poetry Slams in the Heights area for over 20 years. Credentialed as a 7-12 English teacher and a passionate youth advocate, Amy is co-founder and oversees all operations of Lake Erie Ink. Amy facilitates professional development workshops for teachers and other youth serving professionals and still works with youth on personal narrative and spoken word projects. 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 gave her a passion for and strategies to incorporate 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. Reach Amy at [email protected].

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 her daily life. She is 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. Reach Charisse at [email protected].

Cynthia Larsen

Education Director

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. Reach her at [email protected].

Janae Bryson

Marketing Coordinator

Gracefully tripping through life’s trials & tribulations.

Expression of creativity is Janae’s heart & soul. Before joining the team at Lake Erie Ink, she founded a brand and marketing studio, Auden & Company, where she helped businesses craft visually bold stories. She uses her years of design & marketing experience helping LEI ink share their vision with the youth. Reach her at [email protected].

Maya Watkins

Operations Manager

Finding joy in this strange journey.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Maya has been involved with Lake Erie Ink since 2015. She graduated from Hiram College in 2017. She is passionate about art in all its forms, and loves finding new ways to express herself and be creative. Reach her at [email protected].

Teaching Artists

Jarod “Od” Perry-Richardson

Creative Arts Teacher

Sitting down sketching, away like always

Jarod “Od” Perry-Richardson is a Creative Teaching Artist 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.

John Boucher

Creative Arts Teacher

“Storytelling is what makes us human”

John Boucher is a creative writing teacher with an interest in mythology and comic books (and who would argue that the distinction between those two is tenuous at best). He finds great joy in stories of all kinds and is passionate about helping his students do the same, showing them how stories can create deep human connection across time and space. He likes to encourage his students to discover their authorial voices, to write with courage and empathy, and to not be afraid to just get weird with it.

Matt Hribar

Creative Arts Teacher

The best life is 1000 lives

Matt Hribar currently works in the entertainment and media industry as a producer, voice talent, emcee, writer, event host, tour guide, actor, and DJ. Additionally, he runs his own creative content LLC Starvolt Studios, and teaches writing, content creation, and creative arts. He recently finished his M.A. in Digital Storytelling Communications. His hobbies include working out, producing catchy pop music, or soaking in the culture in Northeast Ohio.

Amy Hughes

Creative Arts Teacher

Everywhere I look, I find art.

Amy Hughes is a writer and teacher from Northeast Ohio who has taught writing to middle school, high school, and college students for more than ten years. She is passionate about helping students discover that stories, like all forms of art, have the power to connect, heal, build empathy, and create change. She is also a scuba diver, amateur potter, chronic procrastinator, baker of pies, and mom of two. She’s addicted to thrift stores and has never been known to pass up vintage glassware or salvaged windows. Send her all your unwanted family heirlooms and antique junk—they tell stories too.

Vivian Vail

Creative Arts Teacher

Give a boost; reveal fresh promise

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.

Elana Pitts

Program Assistant

A lonely Traveler Searching for Words.

Elana helps out during the programs or wherever she magically shows up next. Her goal at the end of each program is to make sure they had a great time creating and exploring. If you see her, she may be running around but she’s always open to help or talk—she may even shoot you a hello when she zips by!