Ryan Keesling, Program Director- Ryan teaches arts and literacy to boys in juvenile detention. He has been with Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy Program since its inception. Ryan has a Masters degree in Education from Northwestern University. When he’s not teaching literacy and music production to boys in CCJTDC, Ryan loves to make music of his own, play capoiera, and to produce weekly radio shows for WNUR 89.3 Fm,Destroyer.net, Dubstep.Fm, and DnBRadio.com. Ryan can be reached at ryan@freewritejailarts.orgAmanda Klonsky, Girls Program Director- Amanda leads arts and writing workshops for girls in juvenile detention. Amanda earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago. She writes poetry and non-fiction essays, and is active in Chicago’s vibrant poetry community. Amanda can be reached at amanda@freewritejailarts.org
Roger Bonair-Agard, Teaching Artist (Creative Writing)- Roger Bonair-Agard is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a Cave Canem fellow and author of 3 collections of poetry, tarnish and masquerade (Cypher Books, 2006), GULLY (Cypher Books, Peepal Tree Press, 2010) and the forthcoming Bury My Clothes (Haymarket Press, 2013). Artistic Director and co-founder of NYC’s louderARTS project, Roger is an MFA candidate in creative writing at University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program. He teaches at Fordham University in the Bronx and Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. He is also poet-in-residence at Young Chicago Authors.Elgin-Bokari T. Smith, aka “Kari the Illustrator,” is an artist, social activist, and educator who grew up in Saint Louis Missouri. Elgin received a BFA in Graphic Illustration and Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After college, Elgin began work as an artist assistant for Chicago ceramic artist and Whitney Bi-Annual artist-in-residence Theaster Gates. He has collaborated with Hull House and the Northwestern University School of Law to produce zines such as “I Know My Rights,” “I Want a Lawyer, a Kid’s Guide to the Juvenile Justice System in Illinois,” and taught drawing and graphic design to incarcerated young people. He currently teaches art at the Gary Comer Youth Center on Chicago’s South side and the Cook County Juvenile Center.
