Board and Staff Members

Susan Gossman

Reader, gardener, hiker, political junkie, owner of a troublesome cat, and investor. Susan serves on the Development Committee. She/her.

Miriah Hetherington

Miriah enjoys writing, reading, walking her dogs, hanging out with friends and family, and brackets. [Insert quirky personal detail here.] She/her.

Tod McCoy

Tod McCoy is a 2010 grad and serves as board secretary. He runs Hydra House Books, writes contemporary fantasy and poetry, and loves pizza and chimichangas. But not mixed together. He/him.

Brooks Peck

Brooks Peck is a pop culture museum curator, author and journalist. He likes good design, conlangs, cats, and lowbrow theater. He/him.

Nisi Shawl

Nisi Shawl has been on the board 20 years! They attended Clarion West in 1992 and are still writing. Their time as CW’s Communications Director helped tighten their prose. They/them.

Misha Stone

Misha is a librarian in Seattle specializing in readers’ advisory. Misha loves books, karaoke, coffee and fall in the Northwest. She/her.

Yang-Yang Wang

Yang-Yang Wang is an actor and writer who attended Clarion West in 2014. A lover of brevity, he serves as Clarion West’s Board Chair.

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a CW ’17 grad and strives for good literary citizenship. Free time finds him at the gym with his wife or napping with his dog. He/him.

Elly Bangs

DATABASE SPECIALIST

Elly attended Clarion West in 2017. She rides her bicycle everywhere and enjoys pie, dream pop, and obscure factoids about outer space. She/her.

Marnee Chua

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Marnee is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, nonprofit administrator, reader, and loves to scuba dive. She prefers stories with kimchi in space. She/her.

Neile Graham

WORKSHOP DIRECTOR EMERITUS

Neile Graham loves forests, wind, and rain. Also cats, writing, reading, and the writer-wrangling she does for Clarion West. She’s a 1996 workshop grad. She/her.

Tegan Moore

ONE-DAY WORKSHOP ADMINISTRATOR

Tegan Moore runs Clarion West’s One-Day Workshops. She enjoys her dogs, noodles, fancy cocktails, and reading in the bathtub. She graduated Clarion West class of 2015.

Vicki Saunders

ART & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Vicki Saunders is a writer, editor, and graphic designer who attended Clarion West in 2009, has served as Board Chair, and currently is Clarion West’s Art Director. She/her.

Erik Owomoyela

WEBSITE MANAGER

A former Nebraskan, Erik first moved west to attend Clarion West in 2010. He now lives in Seattle, finding creative applications for his journalism degree.

Kate Schaefer

VOLUNTEER DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR

Former financial analyst at now-defunct bank, former mainframe database programmer. Now CW volunteer. Doesn’t always verb. She/her.

Joe Schindler

CULINARY SPECIALIST

He is a cook for life, bringing people together through the meals he creates. Born in the PNW. He enjoys billiards, sports, and the outdoors.

Janna Silverstein

LITERARY CONTRACT MANAGER

For nearly three decades, Janna has worked as an editor and writer for book publishers, and game and technology companies. A New York transplant, she now lives in Seattle with two opinionated cats and many, many books. She/her.

Jeremy Sim

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Jeremy Sim is a writer, game creator, and world traveler. He manages Clarion West’s publications, community, and online presence. He/him.

Rashida J. Smith

WORKSHOP ADMINISTRATOR

Writer, mom, and occasional cellist, Rashida attended Clarion West in 2005. She loves oatmeal raisin cookies, “kissing books” and superhero movies.

Jae Steinbacher

WORKSHOP COORDINATOR

Jae Steinbacher is a writer, editor, and dual class factotum/sorcerer. Jae loves cats, travel, and enamel pins and is a CW’14 graduate. They/them.

Suzanne Tompkins

SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR

An independent ass’n. manager/meeting planner, Suzanne has been CW’s Office Manager and/or Bookkeeper since 2005. She’s worked on Facilities at many recent Worldcons. She/her.