Who We Are

Kalamazoo Poetry Festival is run by a board of trustees and a part-time executive director. If you’re interested in becoming a KPF board member, you can apply here. You can also volunteer your time at events or on a committee if being a board member isn’t your thing.

Executive Director

Casey Grooten

My name is Casey Grooten, I grew up in the Gobles, MI area, and have lived in Kalamazoo the majority of the last 16 years. I graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing, and have a passion for poetry and fiction. I call myself an interdisciplinary artist, because the majority of my time is dedicated to some area of the arts, whether it be written work, visual art, or music. Poetry came to me in the forest, when I was very young, through the form of song. My parents informed everyone on our street that the singing they heard in the woods that stretched behind many of our houses at night, or early in the morning was me. I still carry this love of nature within me, and much of my work revolves around recycled, found, and gifted materials. Two other things about myself that I believe help people understand me more completely is that I am a nonbinary person who is unapologetically queer, and that I am fourteen years sober from narcotics as of April 2025. I am proud of who I am, and plan to translate that pride into very hard, intentional work with KPF during my time as Executive Director.

Current Board Members

Cameron Decker

Chair, 2024-2028

Cameron Decker is a programmer and poet living in the Kalamazoo area. While working as an applications developer at WMU, he also volunteers his coding skills to the Cartoonists of Color, Queer Cartoonists, and Disabled Cartoonists databases, as well as helping out anywhere he’s needed in Kalamazoo’s writing community. 

Hananiah Hardin

Treasurer, 2024-2028

Cameron Decker is a programmer and poet living in the Kalamazoo area. While working as an applications developer at WMU, he also volunteers his coding skills to the Cartoonists of Color, Queer Cartoonists, and Disabled Cartoonists databases, as well as helping out anywhere he’s needed in Kalamazoo’s writing community. 

Elizabeth Bullmer

Trustee, 2023-2027

Elizabeth Bullmer is a poet/writer/spoken word and visual artist working as a self-employed, licensed massage and sound therapist, in Kalamazoo. She also facilitates writing workshops and small sharing circles for all ages. Bullmer’s most recent publication is a poetry chapbook, Skipping Stones on the River Styx.

Lauren Carney

Trustee, 2022-2026

Lauren (she/they) is a community advocate rooted in Kalamazoo, committed to equity, community, advocacy, authenticity, creativity, and belonging. They serve through organizing, consulting, volunteering, and supporting personal and professional development—while prioritizing deep self-reflection. Recognizing the importance of rest, they find joy in making jewelry, snuggling with their dog Mija, and spending time with loved ones. On any given day, they can be found geeking out over science, rocks, flowers, logic models, and mutual aid. A former board member of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, NAEA, and former co-chair of the Kalamazoo County DEI Advisory Committee, they now focus on family, the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, and their PhD journey.

Nancy Nott

Secretary, 2023-2027

Nancy Hoy Nott taught Language Arts to high school and college students in the Kalamazoo area for over 40 years. Working with students to discover their writing voice was a constant source of joy and satisfaction. During her time in the public schools, she also wrote curriculum, ran events, and supported students as they formed numerous clubs and publications that enabled them to build community and find opportunities for civic engagement. Currently, she facilitates writing workshops and continues to explore writing her own poetry as well. Outdoor activities in every season, outings with family and friends, and travel occupy the time she isn’t at her writing desk.

Kathy Jennings

Trustee, 2024-2028

Kathy Jennings works with managing editors across Issue Media Group to create a culture of editorial quality through best practices in the field of solutions-oriented journalism. Kathy’s background includes 45 years in local journalism with experience as a beat reporter and editor. She formerly was a section editor at the Kalamazoo Gazette and has been with Issue Media Group since 2010. As Managing Editor, she launched Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave that year. She joined IMG leadership in 2022 and is also a leader in the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative as chair of its Editorial Committee. She has been active in area nonprofits, including the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, Michigan Festival of Sacred Music, and Partners in Housing Transition.

Shonda Buchanan

Trustee, 2024-2028

Shonda Buchanan, author of the forthcoming The Lost Songs of Nina Simone and Black Indian, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Western Michigan University and faculty in Alma College’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. Board member-at-large and Writer-at-large for Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Shonda is on the Boards of the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival and the Kalamazoo Arts Council. PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and Workshop Leader, Shonda’s work has appeared in Mississippi Review, TAB Review, Indian Country Today, Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle.

Past Board Members

  • Adam Wagner (Treasurer)
  • Kaitlin Martin (President)
  • Frances Vicioso
  • Salwa Tareen (Secretary)
  • Gen Miller
  • Sara Lupita-Olivares
  • Robin Church (Secretary)
  • John Minser (President)
  • Edward Eckel (President)
  • Richard Pattison (Treasurer)
  • Allison Kennedy (Secretary)
  • Joe Costello
  • Donna McClurkan
  • Zaide Pixley
  • Stacy Nowicki (President)
  • Sherie Veramay
  • Amy Ferguson (Secretary)
  • Marsha Meyer
  • Marion Boyer
  • Karen Trout
  • George Martin (Founder)