Administrative Staff

Suma Karaman Rosen
Executive Director
Dynamic classroom teacher turned nonprofit leader, Suma’s experience in corporate, nonprofit and educational settings has brought depth to her leadership of InsideOut since 2017. Suma is inspired by the resilient and empowered InsideOut students, and brings this passion to all corners of our work, from managing finances and fundraising, to amplifying students’ voices far and wide.

Lia Greenwell
Operations Coordinator
Lia brings masterful organization to her work as Operations Coordinator, where she focuses on capacity building, marketing, and office-wide systems. Serving as the hub where program and administration meet, Lia is equally skilled in supporting the InsideOut team and providing high quality customer service to external stakeholders. A poet and essayist, her writing has appeared in the Kenyon Review, the Missouri Review, and elsewhere.

John Randolph
Development Associate
With a deep commitment for finding the perfect intersection between donor passion and organizational need, John coordinates InsideOut’s individual and corporate giving, as well as fundraising campaigns. John previously served as a Campaign Manager at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields and a Vista Volunteer with Hunger Solutions Minnesota. He experienced the transformational power of writing as a teen and is thrilled to support InsideOut in sharing that power with students throughout Metro Detroit.
Program Staff


Alise Alousi
Director of School & Community Partnerships
Alise has grown with InsideOut from the ground up. As a former Writer-in-Residence at Cody and Cass Tech High Schools, Alise learned first-hand how to cultivate and empower student voice. She brings this on-the-ground knowledge and many years of non-profit youth program experience to her work as Program Director, which she held from 2009-2019, and in her new role as Director of School & Community Partnerships. Alise is a talented poet whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and is a recipient of a Knight Arts Challenge Detroit award.


Michelle Bolofer
Program Director
A native Detroiter, experienced educator, and lifelong Diversity and Inclusion advocate, Michelle is dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for students and communities. As a classroom teacher, corporate educational consultant, and start-up nonprofit director, she has worked to improve educational equity and expand access to resources. With her passion for youth development and community empowerment, Michelle leads the InsideOut program and directs our program vision.


Shawntai Brown
School Programs Manager
With a passion for literacy and pedagogy, Shawntai works with Writers-in-Residence and classroom teachers to cultivate impactful and meaningful learning. In addition to attending InsideOut programs as a student and working in the classroom as a Writer-in-Residence, Shawntai has a Master of Arts in Literacy Learning and has worked as an educator with students of all ages as well as adults. A Kresge Artist Fellow, Shawntai is a playwright with the Extra Mile Playwrights and poet whose work has appeared in Kaleidoscope, Cactus Heart, and Synaesthesia Magazine.


Peter Markus
Senior Writer
Pete found his calling as a Writer-in-Residence with InsideOut and has been with the organization since it was founded 1995. In addition to inspiring students in the classroom, Pete partners with schools to create programs that fit their needs. Pete has published widely about the transformative power of writing, co-editing To Light a Fire: 20 Years with the InsideOut Literary Arts Project, and most recently a memoir, Inside My Pencil: Teaching Poetry in the Detroit Public Schools. A Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow, Pete is the author of the novel Bob, or Man on Boat as well as five other books of short fiction.


Jassmine Parks
Lead Teaching Artist
A dedicated educator who excels at creating safe spaces for youth, Jassmine joined InsideOut as Leading Teaching Artist after serving in teaching roles across our programs. Jassmine believes in the power of language to reflect on past experiences, build agency, and create a future in which we exist as our best selves. A Kresge Artist Fellow and Detroit slam poetry champion who has performed internationally, Jassmine’s work has been published through SlamFind, All Def Poetry and Wusgood? Magazine.


Justin Rogers
Citywide Poets Manager
Justin’s journey with InsideOut began first as a student at Cody High School where a Writer-in-Residence encouraged his writing and recruited him to join Citywide Poets. Since then, Justin has performed for international audiences and published his writing widely. Justin now coordinates our Citywide Poets program, elevating youth voice through weekly sessions around the city, guest writer workshops, performances, and open mic opportunities for youth.
Writers-In-Residence

Joumana Altallal
Writer-In-Residence
Joumana Altallal was born in Baghdad to Iraqi and Lebanese parents and is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia.

Jeffrey Amato
Writer-In-Residence
Former professional wrestler turned writer; Jeffrey Amato is a California-born fiction and creative non-fiction writer.

Tamar Ashdot
Writer-In-Residence
Tamar Ashdot is a Brooklyn born poet, photographer, and vocalist who is currently pursuing her MFA in Poetry.

Ayah Assaf
Writer-In-Residence
Ayah has plenty of first hand experience teaching in schools, and takes pride in establishing an ongoing creative writing club at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Brittany Barron
Writer-In-Residence
Brittany is a poet and youth development leader in metro Detroit. She holds a BA from Oakland University and an MFA from the University of Tampa.

Cat Batsios
Writer-In-Residence
Catharine Batsios is from Flint, and currently stays in Detroit. She writes poems about the cities that build her.

Christiana Castillo
Writer-In-Residence
Christiana Castillo is an educator, activist, urban gardener and writer.

Kayla Chenault
Writer-In-Residence
Kayla Chenault is a Michigan native with an MA in Creative Writing and is the author of the novella These Bones.

Rukiya Colvin
Writer-In-Residence
Rukiya is a native Detroiter who’s an organizer, writer, urban gardener, lifelong learner, and mom.

Isis Damil
Writer-In-Residence
Detroit bred artist, singer, songwriter and actress; Isis Damil has experience in creative, non-profit and corporate settings.

Tarik Dobbs
Writer-In-Residence
Tarik Dobbs is an Arab American, queer writer born in Dearborn, Michigan. Dobbs’s poems appear in American Poetry Review, Poetry Magazine, & The Poetry Review.

Bayan Founas
Writer-In-Residence
Bayan Founas is an educator and artist currently studying at the University of Michigan to receive a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy.

Brie Garbin
Writer-In-Residence
Brie Garbin is a queer, Michigan-born writer. She is about to finish her final year at Wayne State University with a degree in English and creative writing.

Jaelah Glenn
Writer-In-Residence
Jaelah Glenn is a Detroit-based poet, activist, and songwriter who has been creating art for the past 4 years.

Alana Gracey
Writer-In-Residence
Alana Gracey has worked with vulnerable populations since 2004, dealing with issues of homelessness, intimate partner violence, and human sex trafficking.

Justin Groppuso-Cook
Writer-In-Residence
Justin Groppuso-Cook is a poet, musician, and Metro Detroit native.

Reynaldo George Hinojosa Jr.
Writer-In-Residence
Reynaldo George Hinojosa Jr. is a Tejano born writer and musician.

Rose Gorman
Writer-In-Residence
Rose is the Resident Fellow for the Tuxedo Project literary center, and a member of the the 808 Writers Collective, a residency for queer writers of color.

Shayla Harris
Writer-In-Residence
Shayla Harris is a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University where she studied Creative Writing, and Arts and Entertainment Management.

Suzanne Honda
Writer-In-Residence
Suzanne Honda is a Michigan-born poet, fiction writer, and educator.

Elia Hohauser-Thatcher
Writer-In-Residence
Elia Hohauser-Thatcher is the author of The Prophet’s Toothbrush, a chapbook of poetry published by Finishing Line Press in 2021.

Kyle Hunt
Writer-In-Residence
Kyle Hunt is a poet, painter and photographer from West Texas and Middle Tennessee.

Darralynn Hutson
Writer-In-Residence
Darralynn has been a journalist and editor for more than 20+ years contributing to publications as diverse as Vogue Italia to The Detroit Free Press.

Liana Imam
Writer-In-Residence
Liana Imam is a Michigan-born writer and educator, and holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Montana.

Jonathan Jerome
Writer-In-Residence
Jonathan Jerome is a New York City native of Caribbean descent and Detroit transplant. An artist, old school music junkie, and adamant youth advocate.

Nathan John
Writer-In-Residence
Nathan Kweku John is a second-year MFA poet at the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. He is of Gambian, Ghanaian, and Sierra Leonean descent.

Mahogany Jones
Writer-In-Residence
Mahogany Jones is a lyrical force, hailed internationally for her work, as a recording and performance artist, arts educator, and US musical ambassador who’s served 18 countries to date.

Mary Kamal Gagnon
Writer-In-Residence
Mary Kamal Gagnon (b. 1986 Detroit, MI) is a Lebanese multidisciplinary artist, curator, and author.

Saba Keramati
Writer-In-Residence
Saba Keramati is a poet and educator from California. She is the poetry editor at Sundog Lit.

Felicia Krol
Writer-In-Residence
Felicia Krol is a writer and educator from Southeast Michigan. She holds a BA in creative writing from Oakland University, and an MFA from Pacific University in Oregon.

Audra Kubat
Writer-In-Residence
Detroit Music Award winning singer/songwriter Audra Kubat has released 6 albums to critical acclaim in a career that spans over 20 years.

Brenna Lee
Writer-In-Residence
Brenna Lee is a Detroit based poet and prose writer originally from Pittsburgh. She is the author of Green Water (dancing girl press, 2021).

Patrick Morris
Writer-In-Residence
Patrick Morris has worked in non-profit and government settings in metro Detroit for over a decade. He enjoys sports and currently lives in Ferndale.

Wafaa Mustafa
Writer-In-Residence
Wafaa Mustafa is a recent Graduate of WSU, where she majored in English and minored in philosophy.

Judy Oldfield-Wilson
Writer-In-Residence
Judy’s work has appeared in Gigantic Sequins, Portland Review, Passages North, jmww, and Barely South, among others.

Ben Piper
Writer-In-Residence
Ben Piper aka Pipes is a poet, songwriter, and educator living in Detroit with his wife and pups.

Madelyn Porter
Writer-In-Residence
Madelyn Porter, has worked as a professional storyteller/actor for the past forty years, and is a member of Actor’s Equity Association.

Jennifer Quartararo
Writer-In-Residence
Jennifer Quartararo is a Detroit-based writer with Maine roots.

Breauna L. Roach
Writer-In-Residence
Breauna L. Roach is an artist from Detroit, Michigan. Her multimodal work has been displayed at the Hamill Gallery of African Art as well as adapted into animation at the Detroit Institute of Art.

Kelsey Ronan
Writer-In-Residence
Former Writer in Residence of the Hub City Writing Project, her work has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Kenyon Review, New Ohio Review, and elsewhere.

Nia Shumake
Writer-In-Residence
Nia Shumake is a storyteller and educator from Detroit who graduated from the University of Michigan in 2016.

Channing Sinclaire
Writer-In-Residence
Channing Sinclaire is a third-year undergrad student and aspiring author majoring in Communications at Western Michigan University.

Giovanni Smith
Writer-In-Residence
Gio was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and is an alum of CityWide Poets. They are now pursuing a degree at the University of Michigan in Earth and Environmental Sciences, and have won the Marjorie Rapaport Award in Poetry.

Alexandra Smereka
Writer-In-Residence
Alexandra Smereka is a poet from metro Detroit and is currently working on a master’s degree in Creative Writing at Wayne State University.

Cassandra-Verhaegen
Writer-In-Residence
Cassandra Verhaegen holds an MFA from Oregon State University, where she studied fiction and nonfiction writing.
Board of Directors
Teresa McAlpine, President
Director of Marketing Operations
Plante Moran (retired)
Laura Stevens, Vice-President
Director of Budgeting and Forecasting
Handelman Corporation (former)
Maureen Clinesmith, Treasurer
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA (retired)
Cindy Myers, Secretary
Executive Vice President
Chief Human Resources Officer
Flagstar Bank (retired)
Juliette Antwan
VP, Senior Technology Risk Manager
Flagstar Bank
Ali Hijazi
Principal, Assurance
Plante Moran
Susan Knoppow
CEO
Wow Writing Workshop
Kevin Rashid
Honors College Academic Service Officer
Wayne State University
Isabelle Shanafelt
2021-22 Board Fellow
University of Michigan
Samantha Walls
Attorney
John Deere Financial
Hiring
Writer-in-Residence – Applications for 2021/22 *Assistants* remain open on a rolling basis