Cave Canem » Team

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Team

Lisa Willis, Executive Director
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Lisa Willis is a passionate artistic administrator with 20 years of experience managing multi-disciplinary projects in the non-profit and commercial arts sectors. She has held various consulting and management roles in development, programming, and operations for New York Live Arts, home of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Contemporaneous, Thresh, Heidi Latsky Dance, Brian Sanders’ JUNK, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Mann, and JazzReach. In 2020 she co-founded The LynList, a curated listserv and grant writing support service for NYC area individual artists and small non-profit arts groups.

Prior to her shift into fundraising, she was the founding Operations Manager for CAMI Music, establishing and managing its daily administrative protocols in addition to overseeing the touring and managerial logistics for Lang Lang, Tan Dun, Savion Glover, American Ballet Theatre, Cirque Eloize, and the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández. Lisa holds a B.A. in Music Composition and Theory from New York University and a background of training in ballet and modern dance.

Photo credit: Nicholas Nichols

Dante Micheaux, Director of Programs
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Dante Micheaux is the author of Amorous Shepherd and Circus, which won the Four Quartets Prize from the Poetry Society of America and the T. S. Eliot Foundation. His poems and translations have appeared in African American Review; The American Poetry Review; Callaloo; Literary Imagination; Poem-A–Day; Poetry; PN Review; and Tongue—among other journals and anthologies. Micheaux’s other honors include the 2020 Ambit Magazine Poetry Prize, and fellowships from Cave Canem Foundation and The New York Times Foundation.

Photo credit: Nicholas Nichols

Adonis Brown, Programs Coordinator [email protected]

Adonis (formerly Alex) Brown is a freelance Editor and workshop facilitator, with a background in teaching, communications, administration, & events planning. He holds a BA in American Literature from New York University and an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College. He has taught English Literature and Creative Writing, led workshops on recreational activities for young girls of color in New York City, and is a former Editor. Born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn, Adonis’ writing explores bodies and institutions.

Photo credit: Nicholas Nichols

NZ Tyehemba, Operations Manager [email protected]

NZ Tyehemba received her Bachelor’s in Black Studies from Amherst College and obtained her Master’s in Adolescent Special Education from the City University of New York – Hunter College. NZ is a daughter of the late midwife-activist, Nonkululeko Alouwa Tyehemba.

Photo credit: Nicholas Nichols

Christopher J. Greggs, Communications & Engagement Manager
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Christopher J. Greggs is a poet, designer, and recording artist living in Jersey City, NJ. He is a Cave Canem, Tin House, Callaloo, and Watering Hole Poetry fellow and is the recipient of the 2020-2021 Cave Canem Poetry Coalition Fellowship. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as TriQuarterly, Winter Tangerine, Texas Review, and This Is What America Looks Like Anthology (Washington Writers’ Publishing House), among others. He earned his MFA in Poetry from The University of Wisconsin-Madison. His debut EP Change Mah Name is streaming on all platforms. @mynameisgreggs @nameyourworld. His interview with actor/director Sonja Sohn can be found in the great weather for MEDIA anthology Suitcase of Chrysanthemums.

Photo credit: Nicholas Nichols

Elizabeth Thompson, Development Manager
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Elizabeth Thompson is a writer and researcher based in Washington, D.C. With over a decade of experience in student affairs, alumni relations, and special events, Elizabeth’s background centers on engaging alumni from marginalized populations and the socio-historical impact of U.S. public school desegregation on Black students and educators. Elizabeth earned her B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Hood College and the George Washington University, respectively. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and an alumna of the Public Leadership Education Network, a national, nonpartisan organization that prepares college women and marginalized gender groups for leadership in the public policy arena. Elizabeth currently serves as co-editor of Politics and Advocacy at Mixed Mag, an online multimedia magazine dedicated to promoting creatives of color and celebrating multiethnic & multicultural voices.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Nichols

Natalie Desrosiers, Development Coordinator
[email protected]

Natalie Desrosiers is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Bard College (Annadale-on-Hudson), where she received her B.A. in Written Arts with a background in political theory and Black radical thought. Previously, she worked as a library assistant at the Center for Curatorial Studies Bard Library and Archives, and as a 2015 summer intern at Cave Canem. Natalie is interested in publishing, librarianship and the curatorial field.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Nichols

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

Geffrey Davis

2015-11-26T15:51:22-04:00

Geffrey Davis

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/geffrey-davis/

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

2015-11-26T15:29:19-04:00

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/nikky-finney-the-ringing-ear-black-poets-lean-south/

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

Ross Gay, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:48-04:00

Ross Gay, Fellow

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/285/

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

Toi Derricotte

2015-11-26T15:31:58-04:00

Toi Derricotte

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/toi-derricotte/

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

Traci Dant, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:16-04:00

Traci Dant, Fellow

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/284/