What led you to VOICES? Why are you here?

I came to VOICES because … I’ve seen how writing can transform lives.  When I arrived in Tucson, I was looking for a community literacy organization to support but I wasn’t sure how available I would be.  After visiting, it became clear that VOICES would put to good use any time I could share – and that the staff truly understood how to support young writers.

I’m here because I believe that we all have a psychic need to tell our stories, to have a “voice.”  It seems to me that it’s the youth who, developmentally, are most in need—and most open—to exploring what makes them unique.  Youth are particularly eager to know who they are, where they come from, how they’ve changed, what they love, what they believe, who they want to be, and where they want to go in their futures.  VOICES encourages youth to write about themselves,  and also to write about their communities.  In this sense as well, youth also seem more open to doing rigorous critical inquiry projects.  They get excited about investigating all of those normalized things that maybe shouldn’t be so normal in society.

Recently we saw you eating at Beyond Bread … what were you doing there, and what did you order?

My wife and I were on a date.  Daycare is a beautiful thing.  We hadn’t gone out to lunch, just the two of us, in a very long time.  I think we ordered their special, the salmon salad, and of course, had three cups of coffee.

Rumor has that you are in an MFA program. Which one?

I’m in Antioch’s program—out of Los Angeles.  I chose Antioch for two reasons.  It’s a low-residency model, so I can write from wherever we happen to be.  And it’s also the only MFA program in the country that’s devoted to social justice.  The writers are mature, have a broad vision about what writing can do, and they aren’t constrained by the common delusion that writing should be purely aesthetic.

What’s been your favorite VOICES moment so far?

Day one.  We all sat in a circle and everyone shared a bit about how they do or don’t identify themselves, culturally, ethnically, and why.  Everyone I think shared things about themselves that they hadn’t ever had the chance to articulate before.

If you could collapse your “philosophy of life” into three sentences, what would they be?

Three sentences?  I couldn’t collapse it into three books!  That’s maybe why I’m in an MFA program.  My approach to my “philosophy of life” is probably simple enough. I listen as hard I can.  I try to let in all the beauty and all the horror that I can—so that I’ll never be in denial about our role in enabling both.

You impress us. What impresses you?

Well, I took a drive up the Santa Catalinas a few weeks ago.  That was impressive.  But in terms of people, well, when young people step up and tell their stories.   I think they renew in us our sense that we all can play a role in making our communities and world a better place.

If you could interview one other person at VOICES, who would it be and why?

Any of the photographer volunteers.  I’d love to know what they’ve learned from the youth they work with about what pictures need to be taken—and about their vision in general.

(VOICES Photo/Krista Niles)

This is Stephanie, the executive director, blogging for the first but not last time. Today is Veteran’s Day and I am alone in the office catching up on quiet desk work. Since this is my first blog post perhaps it is appropriate for me to introduce myself. I have been at VOICES now for 16 month as the ED and I love my job. It seems to combine everything I care about most … writing, art, youth and young people, education, opportunity, downtown Tucson, philanthropy and giving back, innovation and creativity, ideas, etc. I could go on. You can check out my bio if you want to read more of the resume-type stuff. Here I get to be creative and weird but also strategic and entrepreneurial. 

One of the best things about VOICES is the dedication and talent of the staff and volunteers who make it all happen. I watch Katie and Krista, our writing and photography directors, teach youth about rhetoric and cameras and I’m blown away by their passion for sharing the art forms that have inspired them. They are not alone … Devin, Donny, Ben and Joshua, “the dudes,” are teaching about writing, radio, video and even the art of comic book narrative. Ashley, who is an MFA student in photography at The University of Arizona, is mentoring our photo youth and Lisa, who is earning a master’s in social work from Arizona State University’s extension campus is ensuring that our young people have the support they need outside of these walls to be successful within. I haven’t even begun to touch on the countless volunteers who make this happen, too. Maybe we can post interviews with volunteers on what they like about VOICES.

I have a meeting with said Katie in a few minutes. We are going to grab lunch and brainstorm more ideas for this website, which we are positioning to become our premier publishing outlet, so I’m signing off. But stay tuned. I am dedicated to sharing more with you about this fantastic organization from behind-the-scenes … even if that means a view from my quiet desk. Stephanie