Stacy's Bio

At home in Southern California with Walter and Joni (December 2019; Photo by Steven Soto)

At home in Southern California with Walter and Joni (December 2019; Photo by Steven Soto)

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I'm a writer, poet, visual artist, librarian, DIY oral historian, certified expressive arts facilitator, and lifelong learner who is committed to creating art and books for a more peaceful world. I serve as librarian and associate professor at Santa Ana College in beautiful Santa Ana, California. Building community and supporting other writers and artists is important to me. I appreciate you taking the time to discover my work today.

I was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s and lived outside the city until my family moved to Southern California in 1981. Growing up in the punk rock scene of the 1980s was a big influence on my life, which I credit with my political awakening and DIY ethic.

My books have been adapted for university classes and featured on National Public Radio, Pacifica Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting System, Sirius XM Radio, KCET Artbound, LA Weekly, and various other media channels. I've written articles and reviews for magazines and journals, including Feminist Teacher, Feminist Collections, Library Journal, American Libraries, and Serials Review.

My visual art has appeared in national Collage Artists of America juried art shows. I celebrated my first two solo exhibitions in 2019. Recognizing the healing power of art-making, I completed training in the expressive arts to discover more that I can do in my community and as a healing practice for myself. I earned my Level 2 certificate in expressive arts through Expressive Arts Florida Institute and became a cerfitifed expressive arts facilitator in 2021.

I'm a PhD student in the Transformative Studies Department at California Institute of Integral Studies. My dissertation inquiry is on the experiences of women who create solo-homes, or homes of their own, outside of the dominant marriage-and-family paradigm. I will be analyzing a subgenre of women's autobiographies I have identified.

I eat chocolate before noon every day and always look forward to my morning coffee. I'm a longtime vegan.

In the photo above, the white dog Joni was my beloved friend who passed away in August 2020. Walter, on my right, was a beloved being who passed away in May 2022. Both Joni and Walter were adopted as seniors from Coastal German Shepherd Rescue. I now share my home with my rescue dogs Jack and Lily, who were both also adopted through Coastal German Shepherd Rescue.