Who We Are
Meet the Center for Environmental Literacy Team!
Robert Hass
Chair
River of Words judge, advisor, and co-founder, Bob is the author of several books of poems, including Field Guide (1973), Praise (1979), Human Wishes (1989), and Sun Under Wood: New Poems (1996); and a collection of essays, Twentieth Century Pleasures: Prose on Poetry (1984). His poetry collection Time and Materials (2007) won the National Book Award for poetry and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. His awards include the Yale Younger Poets Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, the National Book Critics’ Circle Award for criticism in 1984, an Award of Merit from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. Bob served from 1995 to 1997 as Poet Laureate of the United States and as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress and as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2001 to 2007. He is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College, and is a Distinguished Professor in Poetry and Poetics at the University of California, Berkeley.
David Wood
David Wood has worked for more than 25 years as an English teacher at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, currently serving as department chair. He received a Distinguished Teacher award from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in 2002. He was a member of the board of the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley from 1998 to 2007, and served as Board President from 1999 to 2001. Wood is also a director of the Wood Foundation of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Master of Arts in teaching (MAT) in English education from the University of Chicago.
River of Words Contest Organizers
Anna Nicole Torres
Student Publishing Manager
Anna Nicole Torres (she/her) is a first-year in Saint Mary's MFA Creative Writing program, specializing in fiction. She's also an intern with Hedgebrook and one of the graduate student assistants for the MFA program. She loves to write horror, but not to read or watch it.
Kassandra Tate
Student Marketing and Publishing Assistant
After graduating from SMC with a Bachelors in Integrated Studies, Kasandra returned for a Masters in Creative Writing. She’s pursuing a career in children's and young adult literature. She is a dedicated, enthusiastic, and passionate wordsmith and teller of tales.
Samantha Newman
Student Marketing and Publishing Assistant
Sam Newman (she/her) is a senior English at Saint Mary's, and is a passionate creative writer and reader with plans to work in publishing post-graduation. Outside of ROW at SMC, Sam is also involved with riverrun literary magazine, the Student Coalition Against Abuse & Rape (SCAAR), and The Lounge. Her current favorite book is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
Sophia Nguyen
Student Publishing Assistant
Sophia is a current junior with an English major and a creative writing emphasis. One of the things she loves doing most in her free time is being out in nature: on hikes, kayaking, enjoying the sun outside, reading and writing poetry. She is passionate about environmental justice and is the President of the Surfriders' club here at SMC. Her favorite book of all time is “Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls.”
Maya Dahlbacka
Student Technician and Publishing Assistant
Maya Dahlbacka [she|her] is a second year studying English Literature and Technical Theatre/Design, and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in post-colonial literature. She has a yellow Labrador puppy named Goose Hamilton, whom she is eager to see again soon.
Grace Bunting
Student Administrative Assistant
Hello! My name is Grace Bunting, I am a junior at St. Mary’s, majoring in music and minoring in English. I hope to teach music after graduating from SMC next spring, and someday pursue a masters degree.