EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JUDIE
HOLCOMB-PACK
PRESIDENT
KEN URBANSKY
VICE PRESIDENT
Judie Holcomb-Pack is a recent past president of Winston-Salem Writers and has been a member for over seven years. She currently coordinates the Writers Around Town monthly get-together and is a member of the scriptwriters group. She writes poetry, short stories, essays, and short plays. She is the associate editor of The Chronicle, where she writes about older adults for the For Seniors Only monthly section.
Ken Urbansky spent 45 years in Christian ministry as a pastor and worship leader. He co-wrote books one and two of the Songstone Trilogy with his long-time friend Bob Mertes. After retiring in 2018, Ken and his wife moved to North Carolina. Although Bob passed away in 2020 from Covid-19, Ken has returned to work on Eden Quest: Doorway to Destiny, book three of the Songstone Trilogy. His book The Timeless Apostle will soon be published by Relevant Publishers LLC.
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ROB MCQUAT
SECRETARY
RITA BENNETT
TREASURER
Robert McOuat hails from the charming coastal town of Orleans, Massachusetts, and remains a fan of New England sports teams. He has written several unpublished novels and posts "satirical commentaries" on his website (www.vardaman-ica). His hobbies include hot yoga, writing and reading. Robert has participated in Winston-Salem Writers activities including critique groups, On Your Feet Open Mic Night, Get the Word Out Mic Night, and serving as a reader for ten-minute plays.
Rita shares this: "I am a native of Winston-Salem and have lived here most of my life. I received my bachelor and masters degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Business and Marketing Education. After teaching high school for thirty years, I retired but continued at Reynolds High School for an additional four years working in the Arts Magnet office. There I handled the financial aspects of our $4.5 million federal grant. In March of this year I retired as the part-time financial secretary for READWS and the Augustine Literacy Tutoring program which is an outreach program of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. A large portion of my job there was to keep up with income and expenditures, prepare monthly treasurer’s reports for the board, and prepare necessary financial documents for grants. In addition, I currently serve on the Arts for Arts Sake (AFAS) board and am actively involved in the arts’ community."
DAVID WINSHIP
ASSISTANT TREAURER
David lives in Bristol, Tennessee, and is a retired public school educator. He has written poetry for over two decades and self-publishes an annual poetry chapbook. He recently had an essay published in the Personal Story Publishing Project, and his play “Connection at the Coffee Shop,” co-written with Judie Holcomb-Pack, was produced by the Winston-Salem Writers’ 10-Minute Play Festival in 2023. He has written several pieces for The Winston-Salem Chronicle. He is also a member of Appalachian Community of Poets and Writers and has a weekly radio show on WEHC-FM on the campus of Emory and Henry College.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
TARA EBRAHIMI
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Tara Ebrahimi moved to Winston-Salem in December 2022 after living in Chicago for more than 10 years. She is a marketing and communications professional and has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington. She primarily writes creative nonfiction essays, but enjoys reading all types of work. Her work has appeared in various literary magazines and the Modern Love column of the New York Times.
BRENDA FULMORE
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
Brenda moved to Winston-Salem from Lumberton, N.C., in 1993 through relocation of her job with a financial institution where she served for 27 years as a senior purchasing agent and supplier diversity manager, and assistant vice president. In 2010 she began working for Winston-Salem State University and retired in 2022. An active community leader, Brenda currently serves on the Winston Salem Community Appearance Commission Board as vice chair. She has served on several executive boards throughout her career, including the Creative Corridor Coalition for 12 years, serving as chair for the last two years and executive director for seven months. She was involved with the design steering committee where she became interested in bridge development and construction. This piqued her interest and she has since written books about bridges with a coloring book for children. Her books are available on Amazon.
REBECCA HOLDER
EVENTS COORDINATOR
Rebecca has worked at newspapers, an advertising agency, a management consulting firm, a state university, and more—writing everything from press releases to speeches to training materials to billboard copy. After moving to Winston-Salem in the early 1990s, she produced The Senior Scene, a newspaper for older adults, which won a national Mature Media Silver award for community tabloid. A licensed general contractor and a licensed nursing home administrator, she became a self-employed long-term care consultant specializing in aging-in-place. Rebecca won First Place for Memoir/Life Experience in the 2023 Senior Games/SilverArts and was a finalist for the 2022 James Hurst Prize for Fiction. Her fiction story “Polite Society” was published in the 2023 issue of Flying South.
JANICE JENNINGS
PROGRAMS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Janice Jennings is a writer and the editorial assistant for the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. A North Carolina native, she’s also called other places home: Ohio, Florida, Peru, and California. After many years in technology and academic fields, and keeping a busy family on track, she retired to finally put her own words on paper. The Sound of Moving Water is the working title of her first novel. Janice lives in Winston-Salem, with her husband Peter and two high maintenance cats.
DAVID JOHNSON
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
David Mark Johnson is a writer from North Carolina. David has worked in the food industry, education, outdoor recreation, and social work, yet his passion and joy is creative writing. In 2017, he earned a B.A. in Psychology from The University of North Carolina at Asheville then moved back to Winston-Salem to be closer to his parents and sister. His creative interests are haiku, free-verse poetry, fantasy fiction, and creative nonfiction. Lamplit evenings with a book or video game help him unwind. Find out more at David’s website: www.davidmarkjohnson.com
Although a recent transplant to North Carolina, Matthew C. McLean has been writing and editing for 20 years, in various forms ranging from comic books to novels. His most recent novel One Sore Rib was released in 2017. Matthew has a passion for literacy and has sought to become actively involved in Bookmarks and Forsyth County child development and education. Whenever he can attend he enjoys the monthly Winston-Salem Writers' Open Mic nights, encouraging anyone who has the courage to create and share with others.
MATTHEW McLEAN
BOOKMARKS COORDINATOR
ANNA PATTERSON
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Anna Patterson has always lived near the heart of Winston-Salem. An AuDHD writer, she is probably best known for her memoir poetry, which she has read at WSW Open Mics and Poetry on the Patio, but she is currently focused on writing her debut novel — the publication of which has been a long-held dream. When not writing, she enjoys reading fantasy and period dramas, playing video games, and watching xiānxiá. She holds an Associate in Applied Science from Forsyth Technical Community College.
PROGRAM COORDINATORS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS
MARK CROSS
MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
Mark is a native of Virginia who holds a master's degree in American History from George Mason University. He lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for 26 years and is the author of the Encyclopedia of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico and A Tale of Santa Fe: Betty Stewart in the City Different. In 2024, he moved to Winston-Salem, where he participates in a WSW memoir critique group.
BRIDGET ELAM
FLYING SOUTH LITERARY JOURNAL COORDINATOR
Bridget Elam is a communications professional with a strong background in editorial strategy, community engagement, and nonprofit leadership. Currently, Bridget is the managing editor of the Winston-Salem Chronicle. She is also a self-published author who writes Christian fiction. Bridget helps other authors publish their books by using Ingram Spark and KDP Publishing.
DONNA EMMARY
OUTREACH
During her career in communications, Donna was sent on assignments to experience white water rafting, gliding, riverboat cruising, and a tour of Europe. During her time in public relations, she handled publicity for an auto club, a Girl Scout council, a construction company, and a cemetery. During her current period of editing/proofreading, she has reviewed magazine articles, graduate school essays, training manuals, and psychological reports. Her professional life has certainly been eclectic. Woven in and out of all her work experiences, Donna coined her own last name from those of her grandmothers Emma and Mary, took a stand-up comedy class which included a 5-minute “final exam” at a comedy club, learned how to tat lace, and traveled alone to visit online friends in Vietnam. Donna enjoys writing creative non-fiction short-short stories and is slowly building an autobiographical collection. She recently completed a series of eight educational books for pre-readers which are now being illustrated and she’s currently working on a long short story, her first work of fiction.
KRISTIN GALLAGHER
FACEBOOK COORDINATOR
Kristin shares this about herself: "I have been an educator for more than 20 years and currently teach 5th grade at Lewisville Elementary. I have always loved watching the writing process of children and their creativity has inspired me to want to write as well. Now, I like to write short stories and historical fiction.I hope to finish the rough draft of a novel this year. I have raised 5 children and am the proud grandma to a little girl. I love dogs, knitting, books, and writing. Oh, and coffee, lots of coffee."
BARBARA GREENBAUM
GENERATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP COORDINATOR
CO-COORDINATOR, ON YOUR FEET OPEN MIC
Barbara has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine, Stonecoast and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Hartford. She taught creative writing at a public magnet arts high school in Willimantic, Connecticut for twelve years and served as an adjunct professor at Eastern CT State University. In 2011, she was awarded a Teaching Arts Fellowship from Surdna. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in American Writer’s Review, Eclectica, Forge, Hog River Review, and others. She is the author of The Last Thing, a book of poetry published by Main Street Rag Publications in November 2022. A long time Connecticut resident, she now lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina with her husband.
JULIE KOLISCHAK
WEBMASTER
Julie’s entire professional career has been in the Communications field. She has over thirty years experience in producing written and visual content for Fortune 500 companies, commercial and nonprofit organizations. Her training in graphic design, coupled with her experience in video production, copywriting and project management, positions her to organize content into a viewable, engaging user experience. Her writing interests include Poetry and Creative Nonfiction.
DAVID RATCLIFFE
TEN-MINUTE PLAY COORDINATOR
David Ratcliffe is a native of Waynesville, N.C. and has lived in the Triad since 1994. He is a financial advisor with Principal Financial Group in Winston-Salem and lives in Lewisville with his wife, Cherie, and son, Corbin. David is a past member of the Greensboro Playwrights’ Forum and had five short plays produced in their Evenings of Short Plays. Since 2002, he has written, directed and acted in contemporary holiday dramas and skits at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church. Most recently, he was the winner of the 2017 Cary Playwrights’ Forum Play Slam. He is past board member of Authoring Action and The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem.
ED ROBSON
ZOOM OPEN MIC COORDINATOR
Ed Robson is a retired psychologist who received an MFA in Creative Writing in 2021 from the University of Central Arkansas. He writes all genres, loves the stage, is committed to the Oxford comma, and can't wait to return to Lago Atitlán.
JOHN WIMBASH
CRITIQUE GROUP COORDINATOR
John Wimbish is a chemical engineer with an MA in linguistics, which he morphed into a career of developing software for translation into many of the world's 7,000-plus minority languages. While his language work brought him to numerous interesting places all over the world, he is pleased to have finally returned to his native North Carolina, near Mayberry (Mt. Airy) where he grew up. With several academic publications under his belt, upon retirement he took up writing fiction. Current details are here (https://jswimbish.com/). In addition to writing he enjoys bikepacking, spending time outdoors, reading, science fiction movies, the oxford comma, and the occasional craft beer. John and his wife live just outside of Winston-Salem.
KAT BODRIE
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Kat Bodrie is a writer and editor based in Winston-Salem, NC. Her articles have appeared in Winston-Salem Monthly, Triad City Beat, 1808: Greensboro’s Monthly, and Forsyth magazines. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry South, West Texas Literary Review, Rat's Ass Review, and elsewhere. She is a volunteer editor for the second edition of Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row. She enjoys reading Stephen Dobyns and Kazuo Ishiguro and working on the house she shares with her husband, Ryan, and feline-friend, Rita. Read her work at katbodrie.com.