Officers on the Executive Board

Meet the current Officers of the OWCA Executive Board. You can contact the Board at board@onlinewritingcenters.org.

Oluwayinka Arawomo, President

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2026, followed by 1-year term as Immediate Past President

Oluwayinka ArawomoOluwayinka Arawomo is the President of the OWCA. In August 2024, she began her professional career at Millikin University as an Assistant Professor of Writing and Director of the Writing Center, following the completion of her PhD in English (Composition and Rhetoric) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in July 2024. Currently at Millikin, she teaches first-year writing and advanced writing courses. Both in her roles as instructor and director, she is passionate about excellent teaching and enhancing a vibrant writing culture through collaborations and meaningful dialogues. Her research interests include online writing support groups for female graduate students, digital writing and rhetoric, Nigerian women’s discourses in digital spaces, and African Feminism. Dr. Arawomo’s approach to writing is holistic, combining writing theory and practice with wellness, time management, and strategic productivity. She pays attention to the whole writer, recognizing the importance of both skills and personal well-being in the writing process. She offers writing support to individuals, groups, and at the institutional level.

 

 Vacant, Vice President

Length of term: 2 years, followed by 2 years as President

Megan Boeshart Burelle, Immediate Past President

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2025

Megan BoeshartMegan Boeshart Burelle is the Immediate Past President of the OWCA. She currently directs the Old Dominion University Writing Center. She began working in writing centers as an undergraduate writing consultant at Ohio State University-Newark in 2010. She is currently working on her PhD in English and working on a dissertation about tutor training for asynchronous screencast tutoring. Her research interests include online tutoring, tutor training, and graduate writing support.

 

 

Vacant, Secretary

Length of term: 1 year

 

Vacant, Assistant Secretary

Length of term: 1 year, followed by 1-year term as Secretary

John Sinclair, Treasurer

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2025

Photo of John Sinclair, a man with dark hair, a beard, and a mustache, looking down as if reading something

Meet Dr. John Sinclair, or ‘Dr. John’ as he’s warmly referred to. In addition to his roles at the OWCA, where he believes that all instructors should be equipped with the tools needed to help students succeed in writing, Dr. John is an active instructor for doctoral, MBA, business and research courses. Dr. John is also a published author, with a best-selling business book on Amazon, and a prolific writer who shares market insights through daily and weekly newsletters. Driven by a passion for cultivating confident and empowered writers, he channels his professional and teaching experience to support students in their writing endeavors. Drawing from his expertise, Dr. John is dedicated to guiding students on a transformative journey, helping them develop into successful and confident writers. He believes in the profound impact of effective support and mentorship, fostering an environment that empowers students to excel in their writing pursuits.”

 

Vacant, Assistant Treasurer

Length of term: 1 year, followed by 1-year term as Treasurer

 

Pallavi Mittra, Diversity & Social Justice Chair

Length of term: 1 year

Pallavi is a woman looking at the camera. She has long dark hair and is giving a small smile.Pallavi is an Academic Coach at the Academic Success Center at National University. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Calcutta (India), a M.S. in Management, a M.Res. in Research Methodology, and a Ph.D. in Organization Behavior from the University of Strathclyde (U.K.). Pallavi has presented her research at several international conferences and received a best paper award from the British Academy of Management. For the past 12 years, she has taught undergraduate students and taken an inquiry-based approach to coaching school students in writing skills, and extensively developed multimodal learning content across diverse topics for varied audiences. In her current role, she assists unconventional learners pursuing graduate studies to understand the intricacies of academic writing and find their unique critical voice as scholars-in-making.

 

Vacant, Diversity & Social Justice Co-Chair

Length of term: 1 year, followed by 1-year term as Diversity & Social Justice Chair

 

 

Jillian Custodi, Accessibility Chair

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2025

 

 

Vacant, Accessibility Co-Chair

Length of term: 1 year, followed by 1-year as Accessibility Chair

 

Vacant, Student Representative

Length of term: 1 year (term can be renewed)

 

Vacant, Student Representative

Length of term: 1 year (term can be renewed)

Jennifer Torres, Conference Chair

Length of term: January 2025 to May 2026

Jenny has long, wavy hair with blonde highlights. She is wearing a navy blue shirt. She is smiling.Jennifer (Jenny) Torres is the OWCA 2025 Conference Chair. Jenny is currently a third year PhD Rhetoric and Composition student at the University of Illinois Chicago. She primarily teaches in the first year writing program and is a supervisor at the UIC Writing Center. Her research interests focus on methods of argumentation stemming from the sophistic practice of antilogic from Ancient Greece. She’s currently a teaching assistant for UIC’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence and assists in designing, promoting, and facilitating training workshops and webinars on teaching strategies and techniques for UIC instructors. Jenny received her Bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology and her Master’s degree in English with a focus on Rhetoric and Composition, both from UIC.

Vacant, Conference Co-Chair

Length of term: January 2025 to May 2026, followed by 1-year term as Conference Chair

 

Elizabeth Taylor, Virtual Events Chair

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2025

Elizabeth has long, wavy brown hair and is smilingDr. Taylor is an Academic Advising Dean at the University of Virginia, she was formerly the Director of Academic Success and Assistant History Professor at Miles College, a HBCU located within the Birmingham metropolitan area. In this position she oversaw the Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Recovery Program. Early Alert Program, Peer Tutoring and Academic Support Services across campus. She was previously employed at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA as the Supplemental Instruction Coordinator, where she also received her doctorate in History. Her current research focuses on the retention of high-risk populations, with a particular focus on academic recovery and success at HBCUs.

Vacant, Virtual Events Co-Chair

Length of term: 1 year, followed by 1-year term as Virtual Events Chair

 

Amanda Tomanek, Website Coordinator

Length of term: January 2024 to December 2025

Amanda Tomanek (she/they) is a website coordinator for the OWCA. She began working as a student assistant in an ESL computer lab on her undergraduate campus, where her love for peer tutoring began. Amanda received a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Teachers College, Columbia University, and spent nearly 5 years teaching EFL and academic literacy at universities in Japan. After returning from Japan, she worked as support staff in the California State University San Marcos Writing Center, which has provided online writing support since fall 2019, and later held the position of Associate Director of Learning and Tutoring Services for Writing Support. She is currently an ESOL instructor in the Portland Community College system and an academic coach for high school and college students with executive function challenges. Her research interests include equitable practices for multilingual, undocumented, and first-generation college students.

Vacant, Website Coordinator

Length of term: 2 years (term can be renewed)

 

Vacant, Grant Coordinator

Length of term: 2 years (term can be renewed)

Brian Harrell, Outreach Coordinator

Length of term: January 2025 to December 2026 (term can be renewed)

Brian smiling and wearing a suitBrian Harrell is the Outreach Coordinator for OWCA and is the Writing Center Specialist at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Brian established the NEOMED Writing Center as a campus initiatives pilot program in February of 2022. Brian is active in IWCA, NCTE, CCCC, and TYCA. Brian has worked in online education as a FYC instructor at several universities, including the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay where he currently teaches asynchronous composition and professional writing courses. Brian has worked in higher education since 2011. Brian is interested in asynchronous, online writing center work as it pertains to medical, pharmacy, and dental students and the high stakes writing they must complete for residency, as well as supporting graduate students in writing their theses and dissertations.