Meet the AWP Staff

David Fenza, Executive Director
David Fenza received an MA degree from Writing Seminars of Johns Hopkins University and an MFA degree from Writers' Workshop of the University of Iowa. He has taught creative writing, literature, and composition at Johns Hopkins University, Old Dominion University, Essex Community College, and Goucher College, and he has served as editor for numerous literary magazines. He has served on the boards of Share Our Strength and the Fall for the Book Literary Festival. Fenza joined the AWP staff in 1988 as Publications Manager. He is the author of a book-length poem, The Interlude. He was awarded a Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts for his work on a novel in verse. Fenza became Executive Director of AWP in 1995.

Matt Burriesci, Associate Director
Matt Burriesci's fiction has appeared in several literary journals recently, including Black Warrior Review, Crucible, and The Beacon Street Review. He studied Shakespeare at Oxford and received his MFA from George Mason University in 2002. Three of his plays have been professionally produced, and he was awarded the Shattuck Award for Excellence in Playwriting in 1996. From 1997-1999, he served as Marketing Manager for Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier.

Supriya Bhatnagar, Director of Publications
Supriya Bhatnagar has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India, and a BA in English and an MFA in Nonfiction from George Mason University. She worked as an assistant to the Director of Admissions at the Washington International School. She has published a short story in Femina, a leading English magazine in India. Supriya started at AWP part-time in 1998.

Alycia Tessean, Director of Conferences
Alycia Tessean received her BA from Colorado State University in 1999 and her MFA in Creative Writing (concentration: poetry) at George Mason University in 2007. Alycia has worked with AWP Conference Services since 2003. Prior to serving as Director of Conferences she worked as AWP's Conference Coordinator managing AWP's Bookfair, and assisted in the planning of AWP's 2004-2005 Confereneces.

Terry Ryan, Director of Membership Services
Terry Ryan received an MFA in Creative Writing (concentration: fiction) from American University. Prior to joining AWP, he worked as a media assistant and technical writer for nonprofit environmental and visual arts organizations in Washington, DC. He joined AWP in the spring of 2001 to work on the Palm Springs Conference and has been working with Membership Services since the fall of 2001.

Josh Baugher, Accounting Manager
Josh Baugher graduated, magna cum laude, from Case Western University in 2002 with a BA in English. He received his MFA in creative writing and literature (concentration: poetry) from George Mason University in 2005. Before coming to work for AWP, he worked as a staff accountant at Kingbell Capital Management since 2004. Josh joined AWP in March 2006.

Kate McDevitt, Webmaster/Administrator
Kate McDevitt received her BS in Computer Science (with minors in Creative Writing: fiction and Mathematics) from Virginia Tech in 2002. Also at Virginia Tech, she worked on her MS in Computer Science (concentration: human-computer interaction). She has done internet and intranet design & development for many educational, governmental, and commercial organizations. Kate joined AWP in late June of 2006.

Kristin Hahn, Associate Editor
Kristin Hahn is currently an MFA student in Nonfiction at George Mason University, where, in May of 2006, she earned her BA in English: Nonfiction Writing & Editing. Kristin joined AWP in early June of 2006.

Kirsten Clodfelter, Assistant Editor
Kirsten Clodfelter is an MFA in Creative Writing candidate (fiction) at George Mason University. Before entering the program, she graduated cum laude from GMU with a BA in English. Prior to working as the assistant editor, she worked for a year in the membership services department.

Christian Teresi, Associate Director of Membership Services
Christian Teresi received his MFA from George Mason University in 2006. He graduated from Binghamton University in 2001 with a BA in English and Creative Writing. He has taught at both the high school and college level and has been involved with AWP since the spring of 2003.

Stacy Livingston, Conference Coordinator
Stacy Livingston received a BA in English from the University of Connecticut before moving to Virginia and earning an MA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from James Madison University.  Stacy taught writing at James Madison for one year, and is now a candidate for an MFA in Creative Writing (concentration: poetry) at George Mason University.

Jona Colson, Conference Assistant
Jona Colson graduated from Goucher College in 2001 with a BA in English and Spanish literature. He received his MFA (poetry) from American University in Washington, DC in 2004. He is currently a candidate for a MA at George Mason University and teaches writing at Goucher College. He joined a AWP in 2005.

Ronald Goldfarb, Legal Council
Ronald Goldfarb is a lawyer, author, and literary agent based in Washington, DC. His firm specializes is legal matters pertaining to writers and publishing. The General Counsel of AWP, he is the author of ten nonfiction books, including Perfect Villains, Imperfect Heroes: Robert F. Kennedy's War Against Organized Crime. He served in the Justice Department of the Kennedy Administration from 1961 to 1964.

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