The West Chester Writing Project

Jolene Borgese (She/Her/Hers)
Continuity Facilitator

Jolene Borges was in the original writing institute in the summer of 1980 and served as the project's assistant director for the first 15 years. She presented workshops, facilitated courses, designed Young Writers Young Readers, mentored project fellows, planned and facilitated Saturday PAWP Days for many years, directed summer institutes. She frequently presented at the National Writing Project Annual Conference and NCTE, serving as Membership chair of CEL- the leadership organization of NCTE for many years. While at the project, she was an English and Writing teacher for West Chester East High School. I was the Lead Teacher in Language Arts at WCASD and help write the balance literacy curriculum in the 90's. I earned my doctorate at Widener University in Educational Leadership. She co-authored a book on Revision with Dick Heyler and Stephanie Romano- Revision Strategies for Adolescent Writers. For the past 10 years, she has been an adjunct professor for several universities and teaches in Young Writers Young Readers each summer. 

Rita DiCarne (She/Her/Hers)
Social Media

Rita DiCarne is a 2000 WCWP Writing TC. She teaches 7th-grade ELA at Our Lady of Mercy RCS. Rita holds a BS in Music Education and an MA in English: Writing, Teaching, and Criticism. Within WCWP her focus is on strategies for teaching writing and content area literacy. Becoming a part of WCWP was life-changing for Rita both personally and professionally. 

Lynne Dorfman (She/Her/Hers)
Blog Manager

Lynne R. Dorfman is a member of the advisory board for the West Chester Writing Project where she also serves on the blog team. For several years, Lynne co-facilitated the invitational summer writing institute at West Chester University. She has facilitated and presented at myriad courses for the Writing Project and has worked in the Young Writers & Readerprogram. Dr. Dorfman has been an adjunct professor for Arcadia University for the past twenty-three years and loves interacting with graduate students. She enjoys her work as a co-editor of PA Reads: Journal of Keystone State Literacy Association and as a member-at-large of KSLA Brandywine/Valley Forge. Currently, Lynne is the Pennsylvania state historian for Alpha Delta Kappa. Lynne is a co-author of Welcome to Writing Workshop. She is working on a new book with co-author Brenda Krupp, Welcome to Reading Workshop, available spring 2023 and a new manuscript on student reflection for ASCD. 

Janice Ewing (She/Her/Hers)
Social Justice Group Liaison, Institute Coach

Janice Ewing is a writer and teacher mentor. She values the many experiences she has had as a teacher, learner, and leader with the West Chester Writing Project. 

Lauren Foley
Teen Events Coordinator

As a middle school English language arts teacher for 13 years and the co-supervisor of her school’s writing club, Lauren Foley understands the importance of creating a writing community that fosters student choice and collaboration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in English from West Chester University. The West Chester Writing Project Summer Institute is one of Lauren’s favorite professional experiences. She is excited to be coordinating teen writing events where adolescent writers can come together in a fun environment to get inspired, generate ideas, develop writing pieces, and hone their skills. She currently supervises student teachers and enjoys writing young adult literature, hiking with her husband, and walking her dog.

Deanna Gabe (She/ Her/ Hers)
Social Justice

Deanna Gabe began her journey to the ELA classroom twenty-one years ago when she received certification to teach English from West Chester University. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men being what they are, she took a thirteen year detour to raise her two children. Deanna then spent three years working as an early childcare provider. She returned to WCU to begin a master's degree program in 2016. Upon her graduation she began teaching in the Educational Foundations and Policy Studies department at WCU, where she taught pre-service teachers for three years. Deanna attended the Summer Institute at the West Chester Writing Project in 2021, and was inspired to finally come full circle. She will be teaching High School English beginning in the fall of 2022.

Catherine Gehman (She/Her/Hers)
Professional Development

Catherine Gehman has been teaching for more than 20 years, having worked with a wide variety of students, including students with disabilities and English learners, across the upper-elementary and middle grades schools in New York, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Catherine holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Cedarville College in Ohio and a master’s degree in education Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA. In 2017, she became a fellow with the West Chester Writing Project. She currently teaches fourth grade English language arts in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. She enjoys facilitating ELA workshops in her district and at conferences including PCTELA (Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts) and KSLA (Keystone State Literacy Association). Catherine’s passion for teaching stems from witnessing the joy students experience as they grow and find success in reading and writing.

Jen Greene (She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Director, Institute Co-Facilitator

WCWP reignited Jen’s passion for teaching writing and changed the way she views writing instruction. The connections she made with fellow TCs set her on the path to her doctoral work with teacher preparation in writing instruction. Jen loves co-directing the Summer Institute and working with new TCs.

Sarah Hyson (She/Her/Hers)
Youth Director

Sarah Hyson, MS, MA, is an adjunct professor at WCU, teaching in the Secondary Education and English departments. She has an eclectic background, including a BFA in Technical Theatre, MS in Historic Preservation, Teaching Certification for Secondary English, and MA in English, Creative Writing. Before joining the faculty at WCU she taught middle school and high school English, Drama, Art, Art History, and History, and directed a yearly Shakespeare festival and spring play. She writes young adult and middle grade literature. At the Writing Project, Sarah focuses on teacher education and the Young Writers Young Readers program.

Dana Kramaroff (She/Her/Hers)
Writing Group Facilitator 

Dana Kramaroff is a mom of three, fifth grade ELA teacher for the Boyertown Area School District in her 22nd year, and a writer and reader. She has been involved with the WCWP since 2004 in various capacities including: attending the literature and writing institutes, previously organzing PAWLP Days, being a guest speaker for various WCWP courses, as a breakout session presenter, serving as one of the co-directors for the advisory board, and leading the Children's Book Writing Group. Her debut middle grade novel, THE DO MORE CLUB comes out in August of 2023 with Penguin Random House and she credits her experiences with the WCWP as inspriing her love of writing and all things book related!

Matthew Kruger-Ross (He/Him/His)
Graduate Programs Liaison

Matthew Kruger-Ross, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration. He teaches graduate courses on educational technology, leadership, curriculum, and research methodologies. Matthew’s research interests include the philosophy of education and technology and its impact on educational practice, curriculum theory as it relates to teaching and being a teacher, and the intersection of philosophy of education and the hermeneutic phenomenology of Martin Heidegger.

Kelly Virgin (She/Her/Hers)
Continuity Facilitator

Kelly Virgin has been a secondary English teacher in the Kennett Consolidated School District since 2005. There she uses her love of reading and writing to inspire her students to view themselves as readers and writers with valuable and unique stories to tell. Over the years, her involvement with the West Chester Writing Project has helped her hone her craft and improve her teaching. In turn, she has taken on several leadership roles with the project in an attempt to give back to the community. In addition to being an educator, Kelly is a mom, a wife, and a breast cancer survivor. She brings these life experiences into her secondary and college classrooms in order to model first hand how life shapes our voices and our stories.

Sharon Williams (She/Her/Hers)
Literary Magazine Editor

Participating in the WCWP Summer Institute was transformational for Sharon. She says, "It is hands down the best professional development I have taken". The institute gave her concrete, practical resources that she could take directly back to her classroom and implement with her students. In addition, the instituted allowed her to grow as a writer on a personal level which ultimately benefits her students. Becoming a part of this community is one of the best decisions of her career.