Site Director
Dr. Adele Leon
Nova Southeastern University
Adele is the founding director of the SoFlo Writing Project and has been working with teachers across instructional levels through community writing and partnership programs since 2016. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts and Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media M.A. program at Nova Southeastern University. She earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English, with a focus on critical feminism and community writing partnerships from the University of Arizona. Dr. Leon’s research engages structural and organizational issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, reciprocity in community-university partnerships, and writing across the curriculum. Her published research can be found in Literacy in Composition Studies, Across the Disciplines, and Community Literacy Journal.
Co-Director
Shawntee’ M. Herring
Jason Taylor Foundation
Shawntee’ Herring, a North Miami native, is a Mass Communications graduate from Bennet College in North Carolina. With 17 years of experience in Broward Schools, she teaches advanced academic writing and creative writing at Cypress Bay High School. Shawntee’ is also the Director of Programs for the Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network and leads the largest youth program at the Jason Taylor Foundation. In these roles, she helps K-12 students develop writing, performance, and community service skills through spoken word poetry. As Program Director, Shawntee’ oversees all aspects of the Foundation’s poetry programming, including design, evaluation, curriculum development, educator training, and management of the Louder Than A Bomb Florida poetry festival.
Graduate Assistant Coordinator
Joanna Sutherland
Nova Southeastern University
Joanna is a highly effective educator at Fort Lauderdale High School where she teaches English Language in the college-level AICE program and leads the Creative Writing honors program. She also runs the school creative writing club and has previously led the school’s poetry club to the Florida spoken word semi-finals. Originally from the UK, Joanna has a BA in Journalism from the University of Sheffield and professional writing experience in journalism, human rights law, and marketing. She moved to South Florida in 2014 and is currently a graduate student in Nova Southeastern University’s Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media M.A. program; her current research interests include the rhetoric of book bans and legislation around cycling in Broward County.