Spillious
Slam Coordinator
CIPS Director

Spillious aka Trevana Spilchen is a Trans feminine settler educator, parent, musician and spoken word artist of Ukrainian and Irish decent. They won the 2017 Grand Slam Championship of the Vancouver Poetry slam and finished 6^th at the 2018 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. They have toured as a featured poet all throughout Canada and the US. Spillious has released 3 chapbooks of poetry and the last, Tales of Trans-formation has sold 200 copies. They are the SOGI (sexual orientation & gender identity) coordinator for the Delta School District and teach Social Justice 12 and Music at Delview secondary. Trevana has a Masters in Social Justice Leadership in Education from UBC and has been facilitating workshops on gender all over the province for the last 5 years. Most importantly Spillious is a parent to 4 kids ranging in age from 3 yrs to 21 yrs old and 4 cats named Cola, Orange Crush, Dr. Pepper & rootbeer!

Angelic Goldsky

CIPS Assistant Director

Angelic Goldsky [t(he?)y] is a poet and transgender community arts lover. They are the Poet in Residence at the Roundhouse Community Art Centre, and love facilitating and finding ancient words which rebel against form, and birth new timelines. They are the Creative Director and Founder of the Transgender Expressions Haven (thehaven.lgbt) – an organization devoted to celebrating transgender creative genius through interactive, media and multi-dimensional art.

RC Weslowski
Hullabaloo Coordinator

RC Weslowski is a 2017 VPL Book Camp Keynote Speaker, winner of the 2016 Sheri D Wilson Golden Beret Award and the 2012 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion. RC is a 2 time World Cup of Poetry Slam Finalist (2007 and 2013) and 7 time member of the Vancouver Poetry Slam. RC has led spoken word and performance workshops at festivals across North America and for the Banff Centre’s Spoken Word Program.

RC is the co-founder and co-director of Hullabaloo: the BC Youth Spoken Word Festival. He is also the co-creator of Surrealist Audio Collage Podcast “Oh No Not Another Podcast”

www.rcweslowski.com

K.P Dennis a Black, non-binary, multi-disciplinary artist, director, producer, and activist based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. They were the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Victoria, the 2017 recipient of the VACCS Community recognition Award, and in 2020 they received the Witness Legacy Award for Social Purpose and Responsibility Through Art. 

Alexandra Caprara
Volunteer Coordinator

Alexandra Caprara is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Toronto (Tkaranto), Ontario, with a passion for storytelling and the arts community. Her work has been produced and staged internationally, and she is currently pursuing her MFA in interdisciplinary creation and research at Simon Fraser University. With a background in poetry, she is excited to connect with fellow poets and audiences as volunteer coordinator.

Amanda Williams-Yeagers
WordPlay Coordinator

Amanda Williams-Yeagers is an elementary educator, instructor of virtual learning and the arts for two faculties of education, a writer and a performer.  Amanda leads professional learning for educators across Ontario, Canada and internationally on arts integration, multimodal communication and innovative practise.  About to complete her Masters of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies, Amanda’s current professional focus is on culturally sustaining practice and on providing authentic learning experiences for both elementary and post-secondary learners.  Recent research projects Amanda has worked on include the use of narrative therapies (spoken word, visual art, letter writing and Sandplay) and the impact of using spoken word in virtual classes to build community and connection.  Amanda is thrilled to be a part of connecting amazing poets with classrooms across the country.

Laura Covaza
Financial Coordinator

Prior to joining Vancouver Poetry House, Laura spent over 7 years in Accounting, managing the finances for many not-for-profit clients. She has her Professional Bookkeeping Certificate from Langara College and her Office Administration Diploma from Vancouver Career College. She intends to continue with more accounting studies in the time left from pursuing her other passions: sewing and embroidery.

Colleen Brown
General Manager

Colleen Brown has nearly a decade of experience working with cultural not-for-profits. She is currently the Board Treasurer of the Or Gallery and has sat on the Western Front’s board. She began working with not-for-profits as the Program Coordinator of Artspeak Gallery (2004-2007). Colleen also held numerous communications positions with educational organizations, most recently at the University of British Columbia. Colleen is a committed teacher. In the last few years, she has taught students of all ages, working with young children in galleries, with teens in the classroom and seniors as part of community-based work. She is a sessional faculty member at Emily Carr University occasionally teaching in the Sculpture Department and Continuing Studies Department. Colleen is a visual artist. She holds a BFA from Emily Carr University, a BA Psyc, Simon Fraser University and an MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Bard College, New York. Her most recent solo exhibitions have been with Burrard Foundation and Unit 17. She has participated in exhibitions and events at Cooper Cole, Toronto; Vancouver Art Gallery; Western Gallery, Bellingham; Shelfed, Vancouver; Hedreen Gallery, Seattle; and The Apartment, Vancouver. Brown holds a British Columbia Art Council Project Grant. Her work for this project is an investigation of alternative forms of the victim impact statement.