Laura Hernandez, President
Laura has a Master’s in Cultural Anthropology and is an actual Law School graduate. While still in law school she worked as the Death Penalty Law Clerk in a Public Defenders’ Office in Southern California. She writes about those adventures and integrates stories about growing up on a horse ranch near the beach as the eldest of many kids, and the only blonde in a half-a-Mexican family. Despite having more education than people should be allowed to have, she tries to maintain her sense of humor, writes almost everyday around her full time job, kayaks in the summer; and only occasionally sips coconut rum through her Mickey Mouse bendy straw. She tries to find time to surf in Hawaii since she noticed too late that there is no beach in her Northern California town. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and is a member of the Board of Directors of Writers Forum in Redding, California.
Troy Racki, Vice President
Troy is a local dentist at Redding Family Dentistry. In his off time he enjoys fishing, hiking, and camping in our local abundant wilderness areas. Winter time brings downhill skiing. Writing and personal finance are also interests of his and occassionally Troy pens financial pieces for the investment site Seeking Alpha
Sharon Owen, Program and Publicity Chair
Sharon grew up in Red Bluff, California where she spent an idyllic childhood riding horseback, taking dancing lessons, and playing various musical instruments. None of these pastimes thrilled her as much as reading fiction. A trip to the library was always an occasion of great joy. Still an avid reader, she’s now a fiction writer with two completed hospital-based mysteries and three other novels in various stages of completion. Previous jobs include author events coordinator for a college library, coordinator of the Medical Affairs office of an acute care hospital, grants coordinator for a multi-million dollar private foundation, and several years as a private writing teacher and consultant. She holds dual degrees in English with a Writing Emphasis and Theatre Arts. Her writing background includes three published plays, several years writing advertising copy, a booklet on NASA’s space food project, and feature stories too numerous to count. Her hobbies include acting and directing at the local playhouse, and hiking to high mountain lakes with her husband and their llamas. Sharon is a charter member and current program chairman of Writers Forum. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.
Ed Sulpice, Membership and Hospitality Chair
Some background…other than he is past officer and a minister.
Jennifer Levens, Treasurer
Jennifer Levens has been writing since she was a child. She’s married without children, but has seven grandchildren, a story she’d be happy to explain. She has lived in Redding for 34 years and has published one book, A Little Romance: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems.
Vickie Linnet, Secretary
At our April Writers Forum meeting, Vickie Linnet was voted in as our new Writers Forum Secretary. Vickie is a long time Writers Forum member. We’re happy to welcome Vickie to the Writers Forum Board of Directors. Biography to follow.
George Parker, Newsletter Editor
George is a fish farmer by day, and a word wrangler by night (and weekends). He has been working on a memoir of his life in the California Conservation Corps and Backcountry trail crews since…well…for a long time. It is now 50,000 words closer to completion and the end is in sight. You can see some of this project at http://grinningdwarf.com/ . After completing Three Years With the Cs, then he will move on to novels and other outdoors writing.
Alicia McCauley, Webmaster & Director at Large
Alicia McCauley is a first grade teacher and a Teacher Consultant for the Northern California Writing Project. This gives her ample opportunities to overcome her fear of public speaking by talking with fellow teachers about her passion: teaching kids to love writing. Throughout her childhood Alicia won awards for her truly magnificent poetry. She’s since stopped torturing people with bad poetry and instead spends her free time trying not to crash while endurance cycling. Alicia spends her summers volunteering as a writing teacher and philanthropist in Northern Uganda. She’s the founder and CEO of Vigilante Kindness, an organization vigilant in the pursuit of sustainable education and employment opportunities for people in developing countries. Alicia is published in the anthology What Teaching Means: Stories from America’s Classrooms and is a featured blogger for A News Cafe. You can follow along with all of Alicia’s adventures at vigilantekindness.com.
New person, Director at Large
Some words for a bio
who is that handsome dude at the top?
Ed has self-described himself as Director at Extra-large…thanks Ed for stepping up and supporting this organization.
welcome Ed…!!!!
Welcome to the new officers, Troy, Vickie and Lindy