Staff

Molly McNulty, Executive Director

Molly Beth McNulty is a retired language arts teacher from Skagit County. She joined the board in 2003 and became Executive Director in 2007. A visual artist, angler, and hunter, she has a great passion for poetry.

Cora Thomas, Executive Assistant / Marketing Manager

Board Members

Genevieve Bisagna, Poets in Schools Coordinator / Board Member

Genny Bisagna grew up in Skagit Valley and recently returned to the beautiful farmland to raise her youngest child. She is a mother with two grown daughters off doing wonderful things in the world, and a young son who loves nature. Genny has been in education for 15 years in the Seattle area. She began as a teacher and tutor for adults learning English as a foreign language, as well as an Italian and Spanish language tutor, and ran math workshops for pre-service teachers. She then worked as a math interventionist for K-8 students before transitioning to a full-time middle School math, Algebra and Geometry teacher. Back home in Skagit Valley she now volunteers at her son’s Elementary school, supports teachers and students through the Skagit River Poetry Foundation in any capacity she can, and brings joy through selling chocolate at Forte Chocolates on the weekends. Genny is dedicated to building community and supporting education in her life and work.

Kathleen Bisagna, Board President

Kathleen Bisagna has long been a supporter of poetry’s power to transform the content of life into the context of love. She enjoys writing, long-distance cycling, and is co-conspirator of Skagit Book & Paper Arts.

Eric Bowen, Board Member Emeritus

When he’s not swimming laps across the Skagit River, Eric can be found singing Welsh folk songs at the Mount Vernon Highland Games and Celtic Arts Festival. He supports his hobbies by working as an accountant.

Gail Bruce, Board Member

Gail Bruce works at Skagit Valley College where she has served students in several positions on both the Whidbey Island and Mount Vernon Campuses. Currently, she is a faculty counselor in Mount Vernon. Gail lives in La Conner with her husband Tim and has two grown daughters.

Tim Bruce, Board Member Emeritus

Tim Bruce is the co-founder of the Skagit River Poetry Project and has been an adjunct instructor in the School Administration program in Woodring since 2011 and in the fall of 2016 he joined WWU as an Assistant Professor.

Sherry Chavers, Board Member Emeritus

Sherry Chavers is a recent retiree from the Anacortes School District with a passion for promoting literacy skills through poetry with children of all ages. She has been on the board since 2013.

Erik Christensen, Board Member

Erik Christensen is the head of the English Department at Oak Harbor High School, and an adjunct professor for Central Washington University. In addition to songs and poetry, Erik writes the “Play That Song Again” music blog for Whidbey Life Magazine.

Gail Davern, Board Member Emeritus

Gail Davern is a poet and a professor of English at Skagit Valley College on Whidbey Island. She has been on the board since 2012. Her new poetry collection, From the Island at the End of Winter was published by Finishing Line Press.

Steven Dolmatz, Board Member

Steven Dolmatz is a retired English teacher from Squalicum High School in Bellingham. He joined the board in 1998, and has been on the Skagit River Poetry Festival’s music committee since 1999 and the poet selection committee since 2002. Steve has been Board President since 2016.

Maryrose Eannace, Board Member Emeritus

Dr. Maryrose Eannace served as Vice President for Learning and Academic Affairs for 10 years at Mohawk Valley Community College. Dr. Eannace has had a career in education spanning nearly 30 years. Prior to her position at MVCC, she served as Dean of Academic Education at Skagit Valley College in Washington, as well as in faculty, and as Director of Theatre and Division Chair at Cazenovia College. Additionally, she served as an adjunct instructor at Pratt at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute and most recently at MVCC and SUNY Poly.

Britta Eschete, Board Member

Appreciator of intriguing words, detailed descriptions and linguistic life filled with books. Since moving to Skagit County in 2000 from Bremerton, Britta has become a dedicated Skagitonian dividing her surplus time between volunteering with the Lincoln Theatre, Celtic Arts Foundation, Riversong Farm, serving on the board of the Skagit River Poetry Foundation, and various community activities. She works in the Career Services Center at Western Washington University and is committed to expanding the definition of career success to include professional and personal accomplishments to support a more equitable world. She has a 28 year old daughter, Noelle Eschete and two young grandchildren – Reina and Davina.

Anna Ferdinand, Board Member

Anna Ferdinand teaches English and journalism at Sedro-Woolley High School.  She has worked in Education since 2008 and has had the privilege of working in classrooms that have hosted poets through the Skagit River Poetry Foundation for most of those years. Prior being an educator, Anna worked as a journalist, a baker, and an index proofreader.  She has two wonderful kids in high school who she loves to the moon and back and then some.

Jessica Gigot, Board Member Emertius

Jessica Gigot is a poet, farmer, teacher and musician. She has a small farm in Bow, WA called Harmony Fields that makes artisan sheep cheese and grows organic herbs. Her first book of poems, Flood Patterns, was published by Antrim House Books in 2015 and her writing has been published in several regional and national journals, including Floating Bridge Press Review, Pilgrimage, About Place Journal, and Poetry Northwest.

Elli Gildnes, Board Member

Elli Gildnes spent several years as a teacher at The American School of Paris where she co-hosted an international digital poetry/film festival and facilitated the visits of US poet laureates to schools in the Paris region and ambassador’s residence. Later, as an administrator at The French American School of Puget Sound in Mercer Island, WA she worked to bring bilingual poets into area schools. With more than 20 years in public and private education, she holds degrees in teaching, administration and curriculum design with a focus on dual language, arts integration and social emotional learning. Elli has enjoyed serving as a volunteer at SRPF and her summers are spent running Maison Monet, a French art and culinary camp.

Heidi Herder, Board Member Emeritus

Heidi Herder is an educator for the Burlington-Edison School District. She has been teaching for over 20 years. Heidi is the past Board Secretary. She retired from the board in June 2017, but continues to be a liaison for Burlington-Edison School District.

Georgia Johnson, Vice President

Georgia Johnson is a poet and lover of words. She taught at the high school in La Conner for more than a decade. She has been with the board since 1999. Her new poetry collection Just Past Dew Point was published by Flying Trout Press.

Adam Lafayette, Board Member

Adam Lafayette is a poet, and a writer of the windbags. He writes and publishes at Postmodern Sport on Substack. He volunteers for the Skagit River Poetry Foundation and he looks forward to contributing further as a board member. He loves to fish and hike the rivers and mountains.

Ramon Mesa Ledesma, Board Member Emeritus

Ramón was born in Toppenish, Washington into a family of sixteen brothers and sisters. His parents emigrated from Mexico in the 1930’s and his family spent the succeeding years living and working in migrant labor camps throughout the Western United States. He is a retired mental health counselor with three published books to his credit. Tomás and the Magic Race Cars is a children’s book. Migrant Sun is a book of poems, short stories and family pictures. Migrant Earth is a sequel to Migrant Sun. He has recently finished his first novel: Ojos Verde, based on a 1950’s incident in a labor camp. He is currently working on a fifth book, tentatively titled, Echoes of the Wind. He and his wife Kendra live on ten acres in rural Sedro Woolley. For more information on his writings go to migrantsun.com.

Jeffrey Morgan, Board Member

Jeffrey Morgan is the author of two poetry collections, Crying Shame (BlazeVOX [Books], 2011) and The Last Note Becomes Its Listener (Conduit Books & Ephemera, 2019), winner of the Minds on Fire Open Book Prize. His poems appear in Copper Nickel, The Kenyon Review Online, Ninth Letter, Poetry Northwest, and Rattle. He lives with his wife, daughter, and brother in Bellingham, WA, and he works for the Skagit River Poetry Foundation as a Poet-in-the-Schools.

Richard A. Revoyr, Treasurer

Richard has lived in Washington forever, learning, teaching, fishing, snowboarding, and most importantly, having married Molly McNulty (Executive Director) on February 7, 1987 at a little white church on Lopez Island, on a sunny day, with lot’s of dear friends and chocolate decadence. He brings computer experience and an MBA to the role. He likes numbers.

Nancy Scagliotti

Kevin Smith, Board Member

Kevin Smith is the National Manager of Field Operations for Camping World where he has worked for the past 19 years. Kevin is also a former Burlington-Edison High School Debate Coach where he coached from 2007-2009. As an avid traveler and self-proclaimed “digital nomad,” Kevin is thrilled to have returned to the Skagit Valley after over a decade of living away, and is looking forward to contributing to the growth and prosperity of the Poetry Foundation.

Linda Vandlac Smith, Board Member

A descendant of Skagit Valley pioneers, Linda Vandlac Smith was born and grew up near the Skagit River. After graduating from Burlington-Edison High School, she earned a Bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials from Seattle Pacific University and later a Master’s in speech from Western Washington University. In her nearly 42-year teaching career, she taught at various high schools, at a Job Corps center, and at Skagit Valley College (Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor, and NAS Whidbey) for 30 years, bringing SVC students to several Skagit River Poetry Festivals. She has also judged several regional Poetry Out Loud competitions over the years. She has two fabulous adult sons.

Mark Strohschein, Board Member

Mark Strohschein has taught English at Oak Harbor High School since 1998, and is currently an adjunct professor for Central Washington University. He is a new board member, but he has attended and enjoyed many festivals and Poets in Schools visits for many years. Mark is also a practicing poet whose chapbooks Cries Across Borders and Sanctuary of Voices will be published in 2025 by Main Street Rag and Ravenna Press, respectively.

Cindy Tracey, Board Member Emeritus

Cindy Tracey moved to Skagit Valley in 2003 when she and her husband purchased Katy’s Inn Bed and Breakfast in La Conner.  After selling the Inn she continues to be a community volunteer and is excited to be a member of the Skagit River Poetry Foundation.

Kathy Willins, Board Member Emeritus

Kathy Willins is a gatherer of tales as a member of the Communal Studies Association and an advocate for the power of poetry as a board member of the Skagit River Poetry Foundation. She is a community volunteer, appreciates good art, good food, and the company of good friends. She has served on the board since 2000.