37 More Voices

April Williamson currently resides in Syracuse, NY where she moved in 2008 after growing up in the deep south. She has been a science teacher in the city for the past ten years. April joined the Downtown Writer's Center in 2022 and has been sharing stories from her life since.

Ren vanMeenen teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology. She is the Editor of Afterimage and has published in several other publications. She holds Master’s degrees in Transformative Language Arts and Media Studies; is competing a PhD in Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought; and is a certified writing therapist.

Sophia Tejeiro grew up on Long Island and now makes her home in Central New York, where she balances motherhood, librarianship, and a lifelong love of the mystical. A former yoga teacher and aspiring writer, she seeks to weave wonder into the fabric of everyday life.

Francesca Swick is a writer in perpetual pursuit of whimsy. She is currently working on a book of personal essays, though she once drafted a romantic comedy screenplay out of pure spite. She is the Paralibrarian for Art & Digital Communications at the DeWitt & Jamesville Library. You can find her online at francesca.swick on Instagram.

Jackie Southard, from upstate New York, lives in Greer, SC, with her husband of 40 years, Mike. Their sons, Ryan and Scott, and Scott’s wife, Laura, live nearby, keeping family close. This piece is from Jackie’s memoir, a collection of humorous stories written for her precocious, imaginative, and creative sons.

Dyana Smolen

Lisa Sellin is retired from corporate and government HR work. She has lived abroad in Thailand, Madagascar, Vietnam, Oman, Afghanistan, and Germany, but is happily re-establishing an affection for Central New York. She has taken writing classes throughout her adult life and is now focusing her writing on autobiographical pieces.

Jacqueline Schmitt. Generations of my family have lived in Central New York. This essay is part of an extended conversation with the past and what it means to inherit part of this beautiful but contested ground. I give belated thanks to the Onondaga Nation for their stewardship of our shared legacy.

Lee B. Savidge, award-winning author and poet, retired engineer, military veteran, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Syracuse University graduate, active in Syracuse, New York, writing groups, is published in anthologies, The Weight Of My Armor (Parlor Press, 2017), What We See On Our Journeys and Earth Care (Willet Press, 2021, 2022), 28 Voices (Voices Heard Publishing, 2024).

Kathy Rothenberg is a retired schoolteacher who lives in Liverpool, NY. She is currently writing a memoir that includes her experiences growing up in the Eastwood area of Syracuse. Her non-fiction short story, Halfway There, appeared in the 2022 edition of Stone Canoe.

Georgia A. Popoff teaches for the YMCA of Central NY’s Writers Voice and serves as Poet Laureate of Onondaga County, NY (2022-2025). Her fifth collection is Living with Haints (Tiger Bark Press, 2024). She is the editor for the University of Michigan Press Under Discussion book series on contemporary poets.

Aaron M. Perrine is a lifelong upstate New Yorker who has settled in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse with his wife and son. This is his second published piece. He works on his own writing when he isn't trying to ensure the writing of others is correct.

Mary J. Nowyj. As an Onondaga Hill resident she taught Communication Skills at OCC. During her time as the Town Of Onondaga historian she wrote articles and published an Arcadia Image book of various hamlets. She enjoys theater, traveling, and volunteering for non-profit organizations.

Sam Netzband is a romance author of four novels, which are in the process of being published. She is crafting her first nonfiction book that details her journey to all fifty states. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and a graduate of the Romance Author Mentorship Program.

Marissa Montgomery is an academic writer who lives in Central New York. This contribution is the sequel to her piece in 28 Voices. Her years researching the historical and cultural roots of systemic misogyny led her to write about her own life experiences. This piece is part of larger memoir that demonstrates the power of dreamwork to free women from repetitive cycles of abuse.

Nilsa Evie Mariano graduated Binghamton University with a Masters in Comparative Literature. At heart she is a Brooklyn girl. Nilsa was published in, Muleskinner, Five Minute, Wildgreens and Stone Canoe. She is proud of being published in the inaugural edition of Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul. Nilsa likes crushed ice.

Linda Loomis. Writer-teacher Loomis contributes a coming-of-age story about her son, a medical doctor, and his twin sisters. She directed the journalism program and taught creative writing at SUNY Oswego, has been a reporter/editor for community and college publications, is a contributing writer for Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, and volunteers as a writing workshop presenter.

Karen Foresti Hempson is a retired professor of Social Studies Education. Her two books, Bean Pickers: American Immigrant Portraits, and Shellback, are based on true stories. Writing competitions recognized her work with numerous awards and recognitions. Several of her essays were published in anthologies and professional journals.

Felicia Haury is a writer and lifelong learner who hails from San Diego, California. In 2024 she was featured in 28 Voices. She is currently working on a memoir about her beloved sister. feliciahaury@yahoo.com

Indu Gupta is a physician and former Onondaga County Health Commissioner. She has witnessed first hand the pain, suffering and triumphs of everyday people. Besides her parents and family, she credits these intimate experiences in making her a caring human being. She always wanted to bring those stories to life. The writing workshop opened that door.

Samuel D. Gruber is an architectural historian, historic preservationist, and community activist. He has written books, chapters, reports, articles, and blogs about Jewish, medieval, and modern art and architecture, and lectures widely. Sam has lived in Syracuse’s Westcott neighborhood, about which he is writing a book, since 1994.

Mary C. Gillen, Mexico, NY, is a participant in the Downtown YMCA’s Writers Voice PRO Program. Published in anthologies including 28 Voices and Stone Canoe. She is working on a YA chapbook and a short story. Mary is a member of Sisters in Crime, Queer Crime Writers, and Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Vincenza Freeborn. Born in 1958, she is one of eleven children raised by a single mother. She holds a BS in Psychology from SUNY New Paltz and an MSW from Adelphi University, and operates a private psychotherapy practice in Albany, NY. She enjoys cultivating her creative writing. Loves bass fishing!

Kathy Ferro is a retiree who worked as an administrative assistant for several non-profits in the Syracuse area. She is taking her first foray into writing, hoping to capture the brief but incredibly powerful journey of accompanying her parents as they grappled with physical and mental decline in their final years.

D’Arcy Farlow is a facilitator and strategic planner who has spent most of her career promoting healthy communities and organizations. She has supported a broad range of groups to envision a better future and to work collaboratively to achieve that future. D’Arcy is writing a memoir about the adventures of living in London England during the early years of her marriage.

Nancy Avery Dafoe, poet/author/educator, has 15 published books, with the most recent including poetry collection When Mine Canaries Stop Singing (FLP, June 2024), novels Yet in the Land of the Living (WingsePress, 2024) and Socrates is Dead Again (PWP, 2021), and a memoir Unstuck in Time (PWP, 2021).

Andrea Cifonelli is a member of The Writer’s Voice of CNY. She is the recipient of Upstate Medical University's 2025 Dearing Writing Award and is published in their literary journal, The Healing Muse. Andrea believes in the power of storytelling and writes in honor of her late brother, Danny. Andrea’s children, Simon and Oscar, are her inspiration.

Tracy Chamberlain Higginbotham is an entrepreneur, feminist, activist, and writer. She is a two-time Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year. Her book, Under a Rose-Colored Hat, highlights living with alopecia and kindness demonstrated by strangers. She is married with two sons and one granddaughter – Ivy Rose.

Hayley Marama Cavino, Ph.D, was born in Aotearoa/New Zealand. She has taught at Ithaca College, Colgate University, Syracuse University, and the University of Waikato. She is of Māori, Irish, Jewish, Scottish and English descent and currently splits her time between her ancestral lands in Tauranga Moana and Haudenosaunee Territory.

Dan Callahan

Deborah Young Bradshaw is a physician and writer who grew up in Central New York. She was raised on a dairy farm and writes about her family. Her work has appeared in Stone Canoe, The Healing Muse, The Annals of Internal Medicine and Neurology. Her memoir piece, Dry Cows, was named a 2020 finalist in the Jeffrey E. Smith Editor Prize for the Missouri Review.

April Bradley has previously been published in The Healing Muse. She works in health care and lives in Syracuse, NY with her husband, children, and Great Dane.

Ann Botash is a pediatrician, writer, and SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor at SUNY Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, NY. A Vassar graduate and Poughkeepsie native, she specializes in child abuse care and has received national recognition for teaching and child advocacy. She finds joy in writing and time with family.

Holly Besaw is a lay servant, pet-therapy volunteer, and retired educator who lives in rural Upstate New York. She is author of a rare-disease poem and two books for the children she visits with her therapy cats. Deeply religious, Besaw draws her strength and inspiration from her faith.

Jean Ann is a retired linguist who is finding the words to tell the stories of her family of origin. She is thrilled to contribute The Chifforobe Part 2 to this volume; it continues the story of The Chifforobe Part 1 which appeared in 28 Voices.

Apple An grew up in China and came to the US in her 20s. She writes stories about her life and those of people she knows. Her goal is to enrich Asian cultural heritage and history to enhance cultural understanding and acceptance among all people.

Andrea Abbott has had a variety of careers including prison librarianship and ministry. She currently volunteers in the Spiritual Care Department at Upstate Hospital.