Staff

Board of Directors

The Hon. Denise Page Hood
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
InsideOut Board Chair

Phil Schloop
Business manager,
I.U.O.E. Local 547 (retired)
InsideOut Board Vice-Chair
(Board member since 2005) I come to InsideOut from a different place then many. From a skilled trades and union background I focused my career on analytical and big picture activities. I bring that pragmatic problem solving background to the Board. But the real reason I am involved is you can't help but be moved by the change that occurs for students as they write of their experiences and vision of their worlds. Poetry brings the opportunity to express, and to come to terms with the challenges in their lives, their often struggling schools, and their communities. I have become convinced that change is incremental—it happens in small ways, literally from the inside out.

Desiree Cooper
City Connect Detroit
(Board member since 2007) As a journalist, I sat in a Detroit middle school and watched an angry kid with a nicked eyebrow write a vulnerable poem about being an egg: hard on the outside, soft on the inside. The day he turned in that poem, he was going to be expelled. The principal read it, and decided to let him stay. That's the difference InsideOut Literary Arts made in just one child's life.
There are many similar children in the Detroit Public Schools who are so at-risk for success, that only a poem can save them. They are eager to be heard. They want to fall in love with language. They want to explore the magic in their everyday lives. They want to perpetrate verses upon the world. InsideOut is the channel for them to lift themselves above the ordinary and connect with the extraordinary power within. InsideOut is a gift to Detroit's children, to the community, and to the world.

Victor Green
Wayne State University

Dwight Levens
Children Matter Forever
(Board member since 2011) Having the opportunity to reflect back on both my early and more recent years, I have grown to better understand, respect, appreciate and value the need to give voice to our youth. Through InsideOut, using the written and spoken word, our youth are able to expand their opportunities to positively impact their future and the world in which they live.

Steve Palackdharry
Communications Manager, Southwest Solutions
(Board member since 2011) I first got to know InsideOut during its very first year. I was making a documentary about the organization for the local PBS station. I was deeply impressed by the mission and impact of InsideOut to help Detroit children and youth discover and cultivate their creative potential. Now, many years later, I feel privileged to serve on the Board -- as this wonderful organization, which has already grown so much -- extends its reach in the community.

Bunice Robinson
DPS Teacher (retired)
(Board member since 2011) My experience and involvement with IO began as a classroom teacher. I learned to love poetry again. It had been formant in me for several years as I encouraged my husband and my students but never thought it was something I should do as well. What really awakened me was not only the writers-in-residence and the visiting authors who came into my classroom year after year, but those of spoken word poets such as Blair and Jamaal May. My students and I were in awe. As a result, they produced such unimaginable work. I was always thrilled with the final copy of 'Style" magazine and pleased with the support of my administration. This role as a IO board member is one of natural transition for me.

Gaylee Rubin
Novelist

Marc Shaye
Attorney
(Board member since 2005) I joined the Board because I believed strongly in the founding principles of IO and wanted to make a difference in assisting IO achieve its long term goals.

Linda Spight
Detroit Public Schools (retired)
InsideOut Board Secretary

• InsideOut Literary Arts Project

  • Wayne State University
  • State Hall Bldg.
  • 5143 Cass Ave., Room #225
  • Detroit, MI
  • 48202
  • P: 313.577.4601
  • F: 313.216.1761
  • info@insideoutdetroit.org