THE LITERARY ACTIVIST
The mission of #TeenWritersProject is being led by literary activist, international high school English teacher, literary commentator and nationally-published freelance writer, delmetria millener (lowercase intended). She serves as the president, and the publisher of its Literary Magazine, The #TWP Quarterly.
Born and raised in Louisiana, millener understands the historical and cultural impact that literacy can have on teens. She grew up with books as her refuge, writing as her release, and a mom-librarian who consistently read to and with her.
To keep her momentum, in 1999, delmetria founded words of wisdom writers society, a discussion and critique group for adults. Ten years later, she founded Hearts for the Arts, Inc., an organization that taught young artists the business of being an artist. delmetria felt that more than any other demographic, teen writers were missing from bookshelves in schools, libraries, and bookstores. Wanting to reach more teens and expose them to the power of writing, vocabulary, and language, delmetria began teaching high school English in 2012.
As an international English and Creative Writing teacher in Thailand, millener recognizes that teens have become disconnected from the generational pride that reading, writing, social and cultural literacy once nurtured. Teens are escaping the powerful inheritances of movements like the Harlem Renaissance, MEChA and the Native American Renaissance, that allowed communities to gain control over the representation of their culture through art, music and literacy.
This disconnection is not without consequence. Over the last 60 years, there has been a systemic decline in literacy, and teens are leading the statistics. This decline in literacy threatens our cultural, professional and social positions. As a solution, through #TeenWritersProject, delmetria intends to take a practical approach to alleviating the problem by using reading and writing to reconnect teens to social, cultural and creative literacy. We want to give them back the responsibility of storytelling that they are obligated to write!
delmetria is an MFA candidate at Goucher College for Creative Nonfiction and she is a 2021-2022 Writer-out-of-Residence with Writers House Pittsburg.
Born and raised in Louisiana, millener understands the historical and cultural impact that literacy can have on teens. She grew up with books as her refuge, writing as her release, and a mom-librarian who consistently read to and with her.
To keep her momentum, in 1999, delmetria founded words of wisdom writers society, a discussion and critique group for adults. Ten years later, she founded Hearts for the Arts, Inc., an organization that taught young artists the business of being an artist. delmetria felt that more than any other demographic, teen writers were missing from bookshelves in schools, libraries, and bookstores. Wanting to reach more teens and expose them to the power of writing, vocabulary, and language, delmetria began teaching high school English in 2012.
As an international English and Creative Writing teacher in Thailand, millener recognizes that teens have become disconnected from the generational pride that reading, writing, social and cultural literacy once nurtured. Teens are escaping the powerful inheritances of movements like the Harlem Renaissance, MEChA and the Native American Renaissance, that allowed communities to gain control over the representation of their culture through art, music and literacy.
This disconnection is not without consequence. Over the last 60 years, there has been a systemic decline in literacy, and teens are leading the statistics. This decline in literacy threatens our cultural, professional and social positions. As a solution, through #TeenWritersProject, delmetria intends to take a practical approach to alleviating the problem by using reading and writing to reconnect teens to social, cultural and creative literacy. We want to give them back the responsibility of storytelling that they are obligated to write!
delmetria is an MFA candidate at Goucher College for Creative Nonfiction and she is a 2021-2022 Writer-out-of-Residence with Writers House Pittsburg.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Shankrelyn Combs-Walker
Finance Manager | Treasurer
Shank meticulously manages our accounts and guards our spending with firm finesse, and her ability to effectively relay information and ensure understanding is the blueprint of our best business practices and a skill she masters.
From introduction to deal closing, Shank is highly skilled at initiating, nurturing and retaining key relationships with clients, funders, partners, parents, teens, board members and salesmen.
Shank also works as a healthcare coding professional for one of the top 20 medical, school and research hospitals in the US, and she is a medical ethics and law instructor for medical professionals. She is accurate, meticulous and efficient and her knack for generating easy-to-understand reports and presentations saves time and the bottom line.
Her favorite hat to wear is as a Scentsy Consultant making homes and offices smell fabulous!
Finance Manager | Treasurer
Shank meticulously manages our accounts and guards our spending with firm finesse, and her ability to effectively relay information and ensure understanding is the blueprint of our best business practices and a skill she masters.
From introduction to deal closing, Shank is highly skilled at initiating, nurturing and retaining key relationships with clients, funders, partners, parents, teens, board members and salesmen.
Shank also works as a healthcare coding professional for one of the top 20 medical, school and research hospitals in the US, and she is a medical ethics and law instructor for medical professionals. She is accurate, meticulous and efficient and her knack for generating easy-to-understand reports and presentations saves time and the bottom line.
Her favorite hat to wear is as a Scentsy Consultant making homes and offices smell fabulous!
Jacqueline Jefferson-Bailey
Director of Education
Jacqueline is a high school counselor who is passionate about the academic, social and emotional development of the students she serves. She started her career in 2005 as a middle school English teacher and was recognized by her district as a Master teacher only five years later.
She led her students as a Yearbook Coordinator, Spelling Bee Coordinator, ELAR Department Chair and achieved 95 percent passing rates multiple years in a row. Now, as a counselor, she continues her work with teens that she inspires to become whomever they choose to become and not who they are told to become.
JaiQue, as she is affectionately called, loves to travel having traveled to 40 states and three countries and has no plans to stop. When she's not traveling, she spends her time hanging out with her nieces and nephews.
Director of Education
Jacqueline is a high school counselor who is passionate about the academic, social and emotional development of the students she serves. She started her career in 2005 as a middle school English teacher and was recognized by her district as a Master teacher only five years later.
She led her students as a Yearbook Coordinator, Spelling Bee Coordinator, ELAR Department Chair and achieved 95 percent passing rates multiple years in a row. Now, as a counselor, she continues her work with teens that she inspires to become whomever they choose to become and not who they are told to become.
JaiQue, as she is affectionately called, loves to travel having traveled to 40 states and three countries and has no plans to stop. When she's not traveling, she spends her time hanging out with her nieces and nephews.
Shunta Spencer
Board Member
Spencer is an Advanced Academics Coordinator and former high school Advanced Academics English teacher. She has been an educator since 2006 and is passionate about empowering teens to use language as a tool to analyze and communicate effectively.
Becoming an AP English Language teacher gave Spencer the freedom to teach her students content that would replicate the authors, communities and stories of which they are familiar.
Her advocacy for quality education for teens led her to become a consultant, coach and reader for National Math and Science Institute (NMSI) and College Board. In these roles, she offers checks and balances to make sure that there is representation for teachers and students in these high-stakes areas, and that quality literature in all genres and cultures is accessible to students.
When Spencer is not being Wonder Woman for her students, her favorite cape to put on is that of Super Mom to her active son. (Translation: driver, fan, financier, cook, tutor, etc.)
Board Member
Spencer is an Advanced Academics Coordinator and former high school Advanced Academics English teacher. She has been an educator since 2006 and is passionate about empowering teens to use language as a tool to analyze and communicate effectively.
Becoming an AP English Language teacher gave Spencer the freedom to teach her students content that would replicate the authors, communities and stories of which they are familiar.
Her advocacy for quality education for teens led her to become a consultant, coach and reader for National Math and Science Institute (NMSI) and College Board. In these roles, she offers checks and balances to make sure that there is representation for teachers and students in these high-stakes areas, and that quality literature in all genres and cultures is accessible to students.
When Spencer is not being Wonder Woman for her students, her favorite cape to put on is that of Super Mom to her active son. (Translation: driver, fan, financier, cook, tutor, etc.)
Kevin Walker
Director of Marketing
Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industry. He has worked on major brands like McDonald’s, AT&T, Coca-Cola Classic, Tyson Foods, and Nokia. For the last 2 years, he served as Multicultural Strategy Director with Team DDB on the U.S. Army recruitment campaign, but now serves as the Head of Consumer and Cultural Insights at CAA Brand Consulting.
In 2006, after noticing a knowledge gap developing for brands who wanted to connect to younger and diverse consumers, he formed his own consultancy called CultureLab. With CultureLab, he was able to bring awareness to the changing demographics among young consumers and the impact of digital media on their habits, and their ways of connecting. Kevin brings a passion for deeper understanding of culture, and specifically the behavior of young diverse consumers.
Uniquely, Kevin’s greatest passion is music! For the last six years, he has co-hosted Bring Your Own Vinyl, a social event in Dallas, Texas, that brings multigenerational and multiethnic people together who are united by their love of vinyl records.
Director of Marketing
Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industry. He has worked on major brands like McDonald’s, AT&T, Coca-Cola Classic, Tyson Foods, and Nokia. For the last 2 years, he served as Multicultural Strategy Director with Team DDB on the U.S. Army recruitment campaign, but now serves as the Head of Consumer and Cultural Insights at CAA Brand Consulting.
In 2006, after noticing a knowledge gap developing for brands who wanted to connect to younger and diverse consumers, he formed his own consultancy called CultureLab. With CultureLab, he was able to bring awareness to the changing demographics among young consumers and the impact of digital media on their habits, and their ways of connecting. Kevin brings a passion for deeper understanding of culture, and specifically the behavior of young diverse consumers.
Uniquely, Kevin’s greatest passion is music! For the last six years, he has co-hosted Bring Your Own Vinyl, a social event in Dallas, Texas, that brings multigenerational and multiethnic people together who are united by their love of vinyl records.
Stacey Megally
Board Member | Managing Editor
Stacey is a writer, runner, and incurable bookworm. Her fiction, creative nonfiction, and editorial work has appeared in Wilderness House Literary Review, The Bookwoman, bookriot.com, The Dallas Morning News, Running Room Magazine, and on stage at the Oral Fixation live storytelling show. She is passionate about championing teen voices through writing and serves as the Dallas Literary Festival Young Writers Contest Editor. Stacey is represented by Wolf Literary Services.
Board Member | Managing Editor
Stacey is a writer, runner, and incurable bookworm. Her fiction, creative nonfiction, and editorial work has appeared in Wilderness House Literary Review, The Bookwoman, bookriot.com, The Dallas Morning News, Running Room Magazine, and on stage at the Oral Fixation live storytelling show. She is passionate about championing teen voices through writing and serves as the Dallas Literary Festival Young Writers Contest Editor. Stacey is represented by Wolf Literary Services.
Afi George
Board Member
Afi is a school teacher, arts advocate, and mom.
Board Member
Afi is a school teacher, arts advocate, and mom.
ADVISORS
Bert Adams, TheBarbersBrand
Program Development
Program Development
Risha Grant, Risha Grant, LLC
Business and D&I Development
Business and D&I Development
Grant Loveless, Elevate Your Essence
Youth Development
Youth Development
Michelle Singer, Stir Media
Strategy and Commercial Viability
Strategy and Commercial Viability