Our Board

Advisory Board Members

In 2023, we formed an advisory board that has provided the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute with the guidance and support needed to achieve its mission of centering, improving, and promoting stories of people from all walks of life.

Alexandra Kostoulas

Alexandra Kostoulas is an award-winning writer of poetry, fiction, and journalism, and the founder of the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute. She has performed her work nationally at various literary events and venues. As an instructor in The Jack Grapes METHOD WRITING Program and at the SF Creative Writing Institute, she helps people find their voice and unblock creatively. Her students have become professors, published authors, and leaders in literary organizations. Alexandra has also coached many aspiring writers to publication and performance of their work, making significant impacts on their writing and lives.

Tongo Eisen-Martin

Tongo Eisen-Martin is the poet laureate of San Francisco. He authored "Someone's Dead Already," nominated for a California Book Award, and "Heaven Is All Goodbyes," which won multiple awards, including the 2018 American Book Award and California Book Award. His 2020 book "Blood on the Fog" was named the Best Poetry Book of 2021 by the New York Times. Besides being a poet, he is an educator and organizer focusing on mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings of Black people, and human rights. He has taught at detention centers and Columbia University and co-founded Black Freighter Press.

Kim Shuck

Kim Shuck is a Cherokee Nation poet, author, weaver, and former poet laureate of San Francisco. She holds a BA in Art and an MFA in Textiles from San Francisco State University. Shuck has authored several works, including "Deer Trails," "Clouds Running In," "Rabbit Stories," "Smuggling Cherokee," and the chapbook "Sidewalk Ndn." In 2019, she was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. She currently works in the Diversity department at the California College of Art. Shuck has won the Diane Decorah First Book Award and the Mary Tallmountain Award for her literary contributions.

Tiffany Davis

Before founding Washington Accounting Services Inc., Tiffany W. Davis worked in accounting for over seven years across various industries. Her firm, with over 12 years of experience, specializes in tax preparation, budgeting, payroll, and CFO services, serving over 1,684 clients with an 88% retention rate. Mrs. Davis is a member of several professional associations and received the National Association of the Self-Employed Achievement Award. She has appeared in major publications and teaches business and accounting courses at the College of Southern Maryland. She holds degrees in Accounting and Management, is a certified Public Accountant, a licensed Maryland Tax Preparer, and a Maryland notary.

Emeritus Board Member

Margo Callard

Margo Callard was a loving friend and advisor to the SF Creative Writing Institute. She nurtured her passion for poetry and personal essays by earning her BA in Literature from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Since its inception, she was one of SFCWI's most enthusiastic supporters: she was a Method Writing and Poetry Workshop student and helped the institute secure its first corporate grant. She also orchestrated the logistical work of the Dispatches from Quarantine Blog and even played the violin at our early Write from the Gut events. In 2022, Margo was diagnosed with lung cancer. She became passionate about those with disabilities and chronic medical conditions after the pandemic. She offered insightful advice on how to make workshops and events more accessible to those with chronic illnesses. On April 16 2024, Margo sadly passed away. We're currently working on establishing an award for women writers in her name called, "The Margo."

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