Meet the Team

Chris is the co-director and co-founder of the New Voices Festival. He is the author of Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literatures (Bloomsbury, 2024), and many essays and articles on contemporary global fiction. He is the Chair of Literatures in English at Ithaca College.

Jacob White is co-director of the 2025 New Voices Festival and an associate professor in the Department of Writing. A former New Voices writer himself, he is the author of the short story collection Being Dead in South Carolina (2013). His fiction has appeared in Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, The Sewanee Review, and elsewhere.

Riley is a senior English major and Translation Studies minor. She is the festival's Student Director and this is her third year with New Voices. A fun fact about her is that her childhood nickname was Stir fry Ri.

Frannie Leigus is a third year Writing and English double major with a minor in Education. This is their third year participating in the New Voices Festival. For the past two years, they have been a guide for two poets- Megan Fernandes and Stella Wong. This is their first year on the leadership team as a Student Assistant Director. Their dream goal is to come back to New Voices as an author after college.

Bailey Bramer is a Writing and Art double major. This is her second year in New Voices and her first as Assistant Student Director. She is also an avid birder.

Abigail is a junior Theatre Studies and Writing double major. She's a student guide for Hannah Louise Poston and this is her first year with the festival. A fun fact about her is that she loves adventuring in nature, and has been zip-lining and suspension bridge hiking in Costa Rica.

Rory is a senior Writing major with an English minor. This is her first time being a student guide for the New Voices Literary Festival although she's admired the position from afar for years, and she's delighted to be the guide for Hannah Louise Poston. A fun fact about Rory is that she discovered she wanted to be a Writing major when she went to a writing camp in middle school, and it felt like entering a parallel universe where people casually used phrases like "moral quandary."

Andrea is a first-year transfer in her junior year pursuing an English major with a Theatre Studies minor. She is very excited as this is her first year with New Voices and she is a guide for this year's playwright Jake Brasch! A fun fact is that she was born and raised in Santa Rosa, the birthplace of Snoopy!

Maddy Dombrow is a second-year Writing for Film, TV, & Emerging Media major with a minor in English. This is her first year involved in the New Voices Festival, and she is so excited to expand her literary knowledge and connect with its talented authors! Maddy is the photo editor for The Ithacan’s Year in Review, an editor for Buzzsaw Magazine, and the producer for the "Career Corner" podcast. Maddy also has contributed as both a writer and videographer for ICTV's scripted series "First-Years."

Ashley is a senior English major and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor. This is her first year with the New Voices Festival. A fun fact about her is that she was a color guard performer for six years.

Meaghan is a senior English Major. This is her second year of participating in the festuval, and she is the guide for the author Jamaica Baldwin. A fun fact about herself is that she is the Managing Editor for the literary magazine Zoetic.

Em is a junior Writing major. They are a guide for Anna Shechtman, and this is their first year with New Voices. One fun fact about them is that they have never broken a bone.

Gemma Colasanti is a junior Writing major with minors in Italian Studies and Live Event Management. This is Gemma's second year as a student guide for the New Voices Festival, and this year she is a guide for Anna Shechtman, author of Riddles of the Spinx. A fun fact about Gemma is that she has been dancing for seventeen years and is involved in three dance companies on campus!

Jordan is a senior English major with minors in Education Studies and Writing for Film, TV, and Emerging Media. This is her first year participating in the New Voices Festival. She will be the student guide for Puloma Ghosh, author of Mouth. A fun fact about her is that she does an amazing Jennifer Coolidge impression.

Simcha is a junior English major with minors in education studies and deaf studies. This is their first year working on the festival.

Jade is a junior Writing major. She is the student guide for Ananda Lima, the author of "Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil," and it is her first year with New Voices. A fun fact about her is that she used to be terrified of ducks.

Ryan is a senior Writing major with a Photography minor. He’s been with the festival for two years, and this year he is the guide for Ananda Lima. Ryan is also a drummer and frequently plays around Ithaca with singer/songwriter Delia-h.

Madison is a freshman English major and psychology minor. This is her first year with New Voices and she’s a guide for Jinwoo Chong. A fun fact about her is that she loves tiramisu.