Staff & Board

Caitlin is originally from a sleepy one-light town in Phoenix, Maryland. After working in Baltimore in both museum and library spaces, she followed her love for writing stories to Florida, where she obtained an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami. Her thesis was a finalist for the Marianne Russo Award for a Novel-in-Progress, and she has been awarded scholarships and fellowships from GrubStreet and the Chesapeake Writers’ Conference. She continues work on her first novel, a braided queer historical narrative set during the Irish War for Independence. To procrastinate on writing, Caitlin is known to get lost in the woods, seek out a cozy bookshop or art museum, and listen to silly D&D podcasts.

Shawn Baker Gibson is a nonprofit communications professional and avid reader born and raised in Western Washington. She has over a decade of experience working with nonprofit arts organizations in the Seattle area, including Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Cultural Access WA, Pottery Northwest, ACT Theatre, Intiman, TeenTix, and more. Shawn holds an MFA in nonprofit arts leadership and BA in theatre arts with a concentration in acting and devised new works. When not working or reading, she is usually fawning over her dog, going on bike rides, or finding new arts to experience around the city.

Frances Cheong was born and raised in Hong Kong. She has studied and lived in Singapore, England, and various cities in the United States. She received her PhD in molecular cell biology at Johns Hopkins University and taught and directed undergraduate genetics courses at University of Washington for ten years. With a long-standing interest in literature and writing, Frances has been a Hugo House student in fiction and nonfiction writing since 2013. She currently lives in Seattle and is working on a story collection.

Diana Delgado was most recently Literary Director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson. Diana is a bilingual Spanish-speaking poet and arts administrator committed to diversifying the literary ecosystem. A first-generation Latinx college graduate, she earned a BFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia. She is a Hedgebrook alum, and her volume of poetry, Tracing the Horse, was a New York Times New & Noteworthy pick. Diana has worked for nonprofit organizations including the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services in Brooklyn, NY, and the William J. Clinton Non-Profit Foundation. 

Alia graduated with a BA in English and a minor in women and gender studies from Seattle University. She enjoys walks in the park, reading, and playing frisbee. Being a Seattle transplant from Oahu, Alia enjoys the occasional sunny days as well as good food.

DK is an artist/activist investigating the intersection of place and memory—exploring the interstices and histories of site; the personal and collective body—through visual art, video, performance, public art, installation, interventions, and arts programming/organizing—under artist name, D.K. Pan. They were born in Seoul, immigrated to US at a young age, and grew up in L.A. and Seattle. As a Butoh dancer and performance artist, they performed in venues/festivals throughout PNW, US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. They founded performance troupe, P.A.N., and collaborated with many groups including Degenerate Art Ensemble and Infernal Noise Brigade. Over 25 years as an artist, D.K. expanded their practice to involve various mediums, recently focusing on video as documents of place; and community engagement practices with Yesler Terrace/Seattle Housing Authority and Sound Transit Art Program. They organized art interventions/cultural events such as TUBS and Bridge Motel. They received The Stranger’s Genius Award in 2011, Artist Trust Fellowship in 2022, and several other grants and awards. In 2015, D.K. created a video survey of the US West Coast, in collaboration with NOAA, as commentary on climate change and homage to communities vulnerable to rising sea levels. Their multi-year work, Time Is Memory, encompasses works on paper, public mark-making, skywriting, tattoos, and video. DK has also worked with Plymouth Housing Group and Community Roots Housing over the past 10+ years to address homelessness and create affordable, vibrant communities—in support of the maxim, “Housing Is A Human Right.”

Before uprooting their life and driving across the country with their pet rabbit, Forest Longeway graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Fiction Writing. They’ve spent the last decade engaging with community & DIY art spaces of Chicago and Seattle—producing work, giving readings, volunteering, managing and promoting. They were a cofounder for the interdisciplinary art series Seven Stories and an editor for Hair Trigger anthology. In addition to mutual aid and art-making, Forest loves camping, hiking, and tending to their menagerie of exotic plants and animals.

The library will always be Amy Lin’s first and best love—sorry, lovers! She has over sixteen years’ experience in small business with a focus on solution innovation. Her work at Hugo House is rooted in a three-fold philosophy: one, that writing is a useful skill to have in an age of constant engagement with written communication; two, that all forms of writing provide immense benefits to the writer; and three, that words effect change in the world around us so it’s worth learning to use them well. Writing is for everyone! Amy enjoys a wide range of interests thanks to being a third-culture kid with ADHD; she’s currently jamming on investing, futurism, emerging technology, self-improvement, interspecies communication, and design thinking. She aspires to be a Bodhisattva to beginners. 

Raised on the Southern Gothic, Ariana is an experimental poet and writer, wannabe zine queen, and intersectional activist. While not from the literal bayou, the self-proclaimed “swamp baby” hails from Louisiana and is Florida-raised. (Five minutes from Gatorland and evacuated from the playground because of a bobcat Florida raised.) She received her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida where she also studied sociology and music. She has been published in various zines, lit journals, and, closest to her heart, Burrow Press’ BP Review.

Aubrey Unemori is a writer, editor, and aspiring coffee connoisseur. She holds a BA in English with creative writing emphasis from the University of Washington and is the co-author of children’s book, Mindful Mansi, which promotes mental wellness and emotional regulation in younger children. Before joining the Hugo House team in December 2021, she interned at local publisher Chin Music Press and was a prose editor with Bricolage Literary and Visual Arts Journal. When she’s not drinking coffee or writing, Aubrey can usually be found reading, drawing, or playing online games with friends.

Ankober is an Ethiopian first-gen born and raised in Seattle. She grew up attending and participating in poetry readings at Hugo House. In her early and mid-twenties, she traveled the world in an effort to “find herself.” She didn’t—and is now back home in Seattle, doing what she loves: sipping coffee and managing her mental health. She graduated from Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina where she pursued a self-designed major in Womanist Spiritual Quest. Ankober believes the world was formed from a word and has dedicated her life to following wherever beautiful words (and worlds) may lead her. Her writing is on the inter-webs.