Staff & Board

Our mentors are hard-working, creative professionals, dedicated to the art of mentorship as well as to their own writing, illustration and storytelling projects.

Below, meet the talented pros who make up our Inklings community.

Society of Young Inklings is always looking for creative individuals to join our thriving community! Check out our current opportunities here.

staff

Naomi Kinsman

Founder And Executive Director

Author of the From Sadie’s Sketchbook Series and Spilled Ink, the award-winning Inklings Writers’ Notebook, Naomi is passionate about sharing her love of writing and creativity with young writers. Naomi’s background in improvisational and story theatre as well as her arts education work in Chicago, Portland, and the Bay Area has convinced her that creative play is a doorway through which learners can find inspiration and transformative learning experiences.

Naomi loves to play in many ways, but some of her favorites are tap-dancing, sketching, experimenting in the kitchen and playing with her Portuguese Water Dog, Lexi. Naomi has a BA in Theatre Arts from Seattle Pacific University and has studied theatre with the Piven Theatre Workshop and ACT. She also has a Masters in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University.

BETH SPENCEWOOD

Director of Youth Publication Programs, Mentor

Beth Spencewood grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she spent the long winters reading her favorite books and writing funny short stories starring her friends. She got a bachelor’s degree in psychology and worked in nonprofit management for many years. Now she has an MFA in writing and writes novels for young adults. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling, playing board games, biking with her family, or cross-stitching.

board members

Kelly Hoy

Board Member

Kelly Hoy has been a public and private school teacher for more than 20 years. After completing her degree at the University of Rhode Island, she started her public-school career as a computer specialist at Crim Elementary in Bridgewater, NJ and as a third-grade elementary school teacher in Dunellen, NJ. She then moved to California private schools: teaching special education at Star Academy in San Anselmo, fifth-grade at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park, and currently, fifth-grade humanities at Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco. Teaching and writing are her passions. She has published a number of case studies and analyses in several editions of Anita Woolfolk’s best-selling psychology text, Educational Psychology. Her goals as a teacher are to develop an appreciation for the unique stories of her students, strengthen their voices, cultivate empathy, and advance social justice, as they all grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

Ravi Kalkunte

Board Chair

Ravi is a Global Product Manager in the field of polymers and plastic films. He has been involved in new product development all his professional life and continues to develop new strategies and new products. He has a Master’s in Textiles from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Wake Forest University. He came to the US as a student to pursue higher education. Ravi likes to travel and play tennis. He has 3 children and has experienced first-hand how good writing skills can facilitate access to great opportunities. He is passionate about encouraging children into trying new and creative pursuits.

Tracy Piombo

Board Member

Tracy Piombo began her career as a misunderstood writer at the age of five, when her kindergarten teacher called her first story “too depressing.” To date, her most rewarding writing experiences have been a fantasy fanfiction novel she wrote in fifth grade, and a college thesis on the science fiction of Ursula K. LeGuin. Since then, Tracy’s calling has been to inspire a love of writing and reading in young people, first as an English Language Arts teacher in New York, then as a Library Teacher at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, California. Tracy has a BA in English from Wellesley College and a Masters in Library and Information Science from Queens College. She still loves science fiction and stories that some might mistakenly label too depressing.

Daniella ROYSTER

Board Member

Daniella is a global health professional, focusing on advancing health equity, health promotion, and policy advocacy. Her fondest childhood memories are of reading her favorite books (over and over again!) and writing short stories about her family’s travel adventures. She hopes to inspire kids/teens to try new learning experiences and develop good writing skills. Daniella has a Masters in Global Health from Northwestern University, BA in Management from Benedictine University Goodwin School of Business, and BS in Biology/Health Sciences from Andrews University. She enjoys reading, volunteering, and traveling with her husband and family.

Oriana Clapper

Board Member, board administrator

Oriana Clapper earned her BA in Communication from Santa Clara University (and interned with the Society of Young Inklings) before moving to the east coast to work in publishing at Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins for several years. Back in the Bay Area, she meets monthly with her writing group of ten years to continue to hone her craft for poetry and short stories. She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and her Australian Retriever, Scout

Mark Radoff

Board Member

Mark Radoff is General Counsel for the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, representing and advising its tribal government, business entities, various departments and committees. He is a former tribal judge, tribal attorney and public defender, protecting children, parents and tribes in dependency cases. He has written extensively on the Indian Child Welfare Act and argued three Amicus briefs on ICWA before the California Supreme Court. Mark writes fiction, short stories, and participates in regional writing conferences and workshops. He has finished a novel about a century-old Navajo dispute between miners, churches, pawn-brokers, boarding schools, sheep and Colonel Sanders.

Mentors

Jen Lynn Bailey

Mentor

Ever since her grade 5 teacher told her she was a writer, Jen believed it, and understood the importance of having someone hold space for you while you find your voice.

Jen Lynn Bailey is an Ontario-based award-winning children’s author whose projects include picture books, poetry, and middle grade fiction. Jen loves playing with the sounds and rhythms of words while drawing on snippets and scraps from her life thus far. She has measured water quality, air quality, and the quality of treads on her hiking shoes. She has focused on fish, her knitting stitch, and the hump of clay on her pottery wheel. She strives to build playful, creative spaces where young writer voices can shine.

Jen holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science Studies from Carleton University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Martin Luther College. Learn more about her at www.jenlynnbailey.com.

Bronté bettencourt

Mentor

Ever since she was a kid, Bronté had been fascinated by the elements of fun and entertaining storytelling. Be it creating stories with friends, dissecting punchlines from anime and cartoons, or falling in love with sounding out written words, Bronté knew that writing would be a core part of her life. She graduated from UCF with a BA English – Creative Writing. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. As a creative professional, Bronté has spearheaded murder mystery night productions for UCF’s anime club, contributed personal essays to podcasts and online literary journals, and written and directed learning modules for Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Bronté lives with her husband in Central Florida, where she hammers away at her young adult post-apocolyptic fantasy with the goal of querying next year!

Ty chapman

Mentor

Ty Chapman is an award-winning author and poet based in Minnesota. He is the author of many children’s books. Additionally, he co-edited the poetry anthology, All Power to the People, with his friend and collaborator, Ari Tison. He has published poems through The Academy of American Poets, Water~Stone, and more. Ty has received fellowships from Cave Canem, The Center for Arts + Social Justice, and The Loft Literary Center. He holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults through Vermont College of Fine Arts. When he isn’t writing his next poetry collection or middle grade fantasy novel, he spends his time playing basketball and reading in the sun.

Alex Doherty

Mentor

Alex is a writer based in the Bay Area and has an MFA in screenwriting. He worked as a Story Assistant for film and TV production in Los Angeles before working as an Assistant Producer at LucasArts in San Francisco. He’s querying his first novel, a Middle Grade adventure! He’s inspired by the creativity of others and enjoys theater, movies, reading and finding time to practice his green thumb when he’s not hiking.

Erin Halden

Mentor

Erin landed her first writing gig at age eight, when she named herself editor of Spot News, the leading daily newspaper on Jupiter. After that, she wrote her own book of myths – this time with GIRLS in them – and rewrote scenes from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so that Lucy led the charge instead of her brother.

After earning degrees in creative writing and journalism, she worked in the grown-up (but still fun) world of documentary television, producing, directing, and writing more than fifty shows and specials. But she missed making stuff up. So she started writing fiction again, and got her MFA in writing for Very Wise People, a.k.a. children and young adults. She’s excited to be a part of the Society of Young Inklings.

Erin lives in a 104-year-old house in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband, three kids, and a dog who thinks she’s a cat.

Avalon Felice Lee

Mentor

Avalon Felice Lee received a nomination for Best Small Fictions 2022. Her words are internationally published or forthcoming in The Boiler, Brain Mill Press, Kissing Dynamite, The Lumiere Review, and elsewhere. She is pursuing a B.A. in Writing & Literature at the College of Creative Studies in UC Santa Barbara.

Tasslyn Magnusson

Mentor

As a fourth grader, Tasslyn Magnusson once tried to read her school library from A to Z, backward. She got stuck on P. L. Travers and Mary Poppins and has been reading anything and everything since. When she’s not writing her poetry or working on her middle grade novels, she’s reading fan fiction written by her teens and trading book recommendations with their friends. Tasslyn received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University in January 2017. She has had several poems published and won the 2017 Room Magazine Poetry prize.

Justin Minkel

Mentor

Justin has known he wanted to be a writer since 2nd grade. He grew up surrounded by the woods, creeks, and hollows of the Ozark Mountains, where he’d go on rambling adventures with characters from whatever fantasy book he was reading at the time.

Justin taught elementary school in New York, California, and Arkansas. He has an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University, and he loves working with young writers as their imaginations flourish and their stories unfold.

Justin’s most recent novel is a fantasy story inspired by the Icarus myth about kids who build their own wings and fly beyond the mountains to discover what lies “beyond beyond.” He lives in a forest-colored house surrounded by trees with his 13-year-old son, his 16-year old daughter, his wife, too many books to fit on the shelves, and a tender-hearted black cat named Smudge.

Melody Ramie Reed

Mentor

As a child, Melody could be found sitting on the floor surrounded by books at the public library. The friends she met in those pages and the adventures she experienced sparked her imagination. Her love of story led to her love of writing at an early age.

As an adult, Melody can still be found surrounded by books at the public library, but now she’s behind the desk. She enjoys helping patrons find enriching tales and shares her passion by leading writing classes for adults and teens. Melody is a creative professional with over 15 years teaching children. She has a BS in Computer Science from St. Francis University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. When she’s not writing, reading or revising, she fancies walking her dogs, listening to beach waves, or eating ice cream. She has raised 3 children and lives with her husband near Chicago.

Lisa Frenkel Riddiough

Mentor

Lisa Frenkel Riddiough is a Northern California-based writer whose projects include picture books, middle-grade, short fiction, and poetry. She earned a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing from UC Berkeley Extension and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. Lisa is the author of ELVIS AND THE WORLD AS IT STANDS (Abrams, 2021), LETTERS TO LIVE BY: AN ALPHABET BOOK WITH INTENTION (Running Press Kids, 2022), PIE-RATS! (Viking, 2024) and the forthcoming EMBARASSED FERRET (Disney, 2025). Lisa is a former sales executive, an avid squirrel watcher, and a frequent baker of chocolate pound cake. Learn more about Lisa at www.lisariddiough.com and on IG @lisariddiough.

sonja solter

Mentor

Sonja spent her childhood summers in her mother’s homeland of Finland and traveled the world extensively with her family. She read so voraciously as a child that she once brought over 70 books on a trip. (Her mother is still trying to figure out how that slipped by her.) Sonja graduated with an interdisciplinary degree in Human Biology from Stanford University and has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. She writes for all age levels and has had a reader published for the educational market. She has also been a Music Together director and teacher, where she especially enjoyed the collaborative improvisation aspect of the program. Sonja lives with her husband and two children in Louisville, CO, and enjoys nature, travel, and yoga. Her debut middle grade novel in verse, When You Know What I Know, is an ILA Honor Book and Colorado Book Award Finalist.

Elizabeth Verdick

Mentor

Elizabeth Verdick loves to write for all ages, from toddlers to teens. Some of her picture books include Small Walt, Bike & Trike, and Peep Leap. She received her MFA from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has two French bulldogs that (along with her two grown children) are the light of her life. Elizabeth enjoys mentoring because she gets to work with kids who believe in their writing dreams.

ashley Walker

Mentor

Ashley Walker has been a primary school librarian, grad school lecturer, pilot, programmer, and personal trainer, but her favorite job is the one she’s doing now—writing.

Her broad life experience and education shape her work. Ashley holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence and earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she was a three-time award winner. Ashley is the co-author of a young adult biography collection in the Chicago Review Press Women of Power series (2022), and she is writing a YA book, part narrative nonfiction and part memoir, about AI for Candlewick/MITeen Press (due out in 2026).

Ashley lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is active in the kidlit community and a dedicated mentor in youth art and science programs. Learn more at ashleywalkerbooks.com.

advisory board

Odette Harris

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Odette Harris is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of Brain Injury for Stanford Medical Center. Dr. Harris manages and coordinates the medical and surgical care of all patients suffering from traumatic brain injury that are admitted to the Stanford System. She focuses on implementing and streamlining current treatment algorithms aimed at improving the outcomes of this growing population. The primary focus is specific not only to mortality but to functional outcome improvements. Dr. Harris works in a collaborative manner with colleagues in Surgical Trauma, Neuro-Critical Care, Nursing, Rehabilitation, and all related specialties.

Youth Advisory Board

Alister Sharp

Audrey Lee

Claire Lignore

Diya Goyal

Lily Tuvi

Sterling Davies

Allison Xu

Caitlyn Yang

Danica Richey

Kelsey Sweetland

Sophia Johnsen

contributing artists

Collaborating and Contributing Artists

We also partner with a group of professional authors, illustrators, and creatives that we call our Collaborating Artists. Collaborating Artists serve as volunteers and encouragers for Society of Young Inklings and our young writers. Click here to see our featured partners.