Rachel Belouin
Program Manager
Rachel Belouin is the Southern Plains Program Manager for Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. She received a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a master’s degree in Non-Fiction Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and a master’s in Natural Resource Stewardship with a concentration in grasslands and ecological restoration from Colorado State University. She taught writing at community colleges for ten years before taking a position with Bird Conservancy. Rachel has experience working and living on a third-generation cattle ranch and enjoys riding her horse, spending time with her son, and reading a great book.
Carolyn Chase
UX writer, researcher, and marketing copywriter
CU Denver English M.A. Graduate, Class of 2018
My love for words started young and ultimately propelled me into an undergrad English literature program at The University of Iowa. After a stint in AmeriCorps and non-profits, I earned my teaching license in English education and returned to the classroom, my favorite place to talk lit. Because one classroom just wasn't enough, I quickly found myself back in school for my Masters in Writing and Rhetoric at CU Denver. I choose this field of study to balance out my mostly literature focused bachelor's degree. Yes, I loved teaching both at the secondary level and as an instructor at CU Denver, but after 15 years, I decided to test my passions in a different career. Today you will find me at a small startup as a jack of all trades UX writer, researcher, and marketing copywriter - and I love it!
Shaye Hernandez
Educator
CU Denver English 2019
I have been with Denver Public Schools for about 15 years in various roles, with the most recent being a high school English teacher. I hold a Bachelor's in English Creative Writing, a Master’s in Teaching with a concentration on Secondary English, and am currently pursuing a Doctorate in leadership in education with a concentration in urban and diverse communities—all from CU Denver. Additionally, I am working on adding a certificate in entrepreneurship to my assemblage. My passion for reading and writing encompasses a love for dystopian, speculative fiction, sci-fi stories, and engaging with CU Denver’s Copper Nickel allowing me to stay up to date with the latest literary creations and trends. In my free time, I enjoy watching Love, Death + Robots and planning for Christmas.
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry
Science Writer
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Science Communicator at JILA and is the Editor-in-Chief of their journal Light & Matter. She is also a freelance science journalist. Her beats include deep technology, quantum technology, AI, diversity within the tech industries, and cephalopods. Kenna’s work has been featured in various publications, including Scientific American, New Scientist, Discover Magazine, Ars Technica, Astronomy Magazine, Leaps Magazine, ChemistryWorld, Physics.org, Colorado Magazine, Inside Quantum Technology, The Quantum Insider, The Deep Tech Insider, the Metaverse Insider, The Debrief, and Octonation. She currently sits on the board of SWARM (Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains) as well as teaches science writing to graduate students at JILA.
Samantha McClain
Nonprofit Liaison (focus: grant writing and development)
CU Denver English Graduate, Class of 2021
Samantha graduated with her BA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology from the University of Colorado Denver in 2021. She currently works for Arula Consulting in Fort Collins as a Nonprofit Liaison where she gets to work with nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their goals and equip them with the tools they need to live their missions. This is achieved mainly through grant writing and development. She is also involved in strategic planning and advising. Samantha is amazed by the way people and organizations can come together to make a difference in their communities and loves that she gets to be part of that through her career. In her free time she loves reading, being outside, and spending time with her husband, two young children, and goofy weimaraner.
Ryan Oliver
Technical Writer
CU Denver English Graduate, Class of 2023
I earned my BA in English – Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology in 2023. I also hold an AA in English for literature and a certificate for technical writing, as well as other professional certifications.
I was in quality assurance for several years while I pursued my education, with my last QA role being as an auditor in the medical field. In 2022, with my degree all but forthcoming, I accepted a role as a technical writer in the manufacturing sector. While this was a big career shift, I found that my education at UCD was a vital tool for my success in this role.
Outside of work, I am a family man and an amateur writer. I’m also a runner, biker, RPG enthusiast, and the designated game master of my friend group. Finally, though I’ve spent many words on everything else, my three children are my entire world – I honestly wouldn’t have gone through school or worked so hard in my career if not for them.
Rayhané Sanders
Literary Agent
Rayhané Sanders attended NYU and began her publishing career at Newsweek Magazine. She then moved to book publishing, working first for Penguin’s Dutton and Gotham Books and then for Wayne Kabak’s WSK Management and William Morris Endeavor, where she worked with New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors and broadcast journalists. She is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR). She represents and is on the lookout for literary and historical fiction, upmarket book-club fiction, comic novels, short story collections, propulsive narrative nonfiction, essay collections, and memoir. Her authors include Lidia Yuknavitch, Myriam Gurba, Te-Ping Chen, and Hari Ziyad. She likes projects that are voice-centered and site-specific, whether that be a place, profession, culture, or subculture. Though quality of writing is the most important factor, she is particularly interested in fresh voices telling fresh stories we haven’t heard before and is fond of immigrant stories and stories concerned with race, sexuality, cross-cultural themes, and notions of identity.
Carrie Schaeffer
Director of Information Development
Carrie Sheaffer is the Director of Information Development at Nextworld, a software company offering a cutting-edge enterprise applications platform. Carrie began her career in 2001, working as a junior technical writer and learning how to document API. Over the years, she has written developer documentation, designed documentation for emerging products, managed writers in the US and abroad, and developed a reputation for effective management and strategic thinking. Since 2017, she has been directing the Technical Communications efforts at Nextworld, guiding the construction of an all-new documentation suite.
Carrie served as President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication from 2016-2018. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master's from the University of Colorado Denver.
Connor Serr
Technical Writer, CU Denver ENWT Class of 2019
I am a Denver-based technical writer, curator, and artist. My current position is Technical Writer at Visa. Before technical writing, I was involved in the commercial arts industry for over 10 years as a curator and gallerist. I am also an artist, working mostly in collage and acrylic painting. I graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2019 with a BFA in Professional Writing and a minor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience.
Jamey Sheesley
Technical Writer
CU Denver English Graduate, Class of 2011
Jamey Sheesley is a Technical Writer with over ten years of writing experience in Manufacturing and over a year in her current role in Construction as a Technical Writer at Denver International Airport for the Design, Engineering and Construction team. Jamey transforms complex and technically difficult written materials into clear and concise documentation. She has also improved the overall documentation quality by adding company branding, reducing wordiness, and adding photos or illustrations to enhance the written message. Jamey received her bachelor’s degree in English Writing from the University of Colorado Denver in May 2011 and landed her first Technical Writing job in the fall of the same year. In her free time, Jamey likes to overland in her Toyota 4Runner, be with her dogs, and work on race cars with her husband.
Daniel Slager
he/him/his
Publisher & Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Slager is the publisher & CEO of Milkweed Editions. Prior to joining Milkweed as editor-in-chief in 2005, he was an editor at Harcourt Trade Publishers in New York. Prior to joining Harcourt, he was the associate editor of Grand Street, a leading quarterly magazine of literature and fine arts.
Slager is also a widely published translator from the German. His translations of texts by writers such as Marcel Beyer, Durs Grünbein, Felicitas Hoppe, Dorothea Dieckmann, and Terézia Mora have marked these authors’ first publication in the United States. His most recent book-length translation was Auguste Rodin by Rainer Maria Rilke, which was published by Archipelago Press in 2004, and awarded the American Translator Association’s Ungar Prize in 2005.
Slager serves on the Boards of Directors for the Ledig House International Writers’ Colony, Motionpoems, and Open Book, as well as on the Advisory Board for Archipelago Books, an independent publishing house in New York.
Abby E. Wilson
Copywriter
Abby E. Wilson, founder of Abby Elise Creative LLC, is a Denver-based freelance copywriter with more than 15 years of professional experience in advertising and publishing. Formerly a full-time copywriter at Ogilvy and lead writer at creative ad agency, rabble+rouser, Abby has since partnered with both brands and agencies — including some of the world's most respected names in outdoor lifestyle, sustainable fashion, luxury automotive, beauty, technology, and food and beverage.
Abby got her start running around NYC in heels as a fashion intern at Glamour magazine. She spent years editing and writing for New York Times best-selling cookbooks and national magazines at Meredith Corporation before starting her career as an advertising copywriter.
When she's not writing, you'll find Abby traveling or in mountains — skiing, hiking, and exploring — with her husband and three kids, Winnie Lane, Rooney Jude, and Pepper Jules.