Greetings, CCW friends,
We at the Coalition for Community Writing are excited to share with you two organizational updates in this Fall 2026 season in addition to a reminder about the Conference on Community Writing CFP. Our theme for next year’s conference is “Nurturing Human Connection in an Age of Isolation.” The call for proposals went out in August, and our proposal portal is now open! We look forward to accepting proposals through December 14. We hope that you will join us October 20-23, 2027 in Detroit, Michigan for the seventh biennial Conference on Community Writing.
I have been honored to serve as the executive director of the Coalition for Community Writing since its founding in 2019. It has been such a joy to be part of this organization’s beginnings and growth into what we hope is a stable home community for your disciplinary networking and mentoring, resources, and professional development. I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Adrienne Jankens (Associate Professor, Rhetoric and Writing Studies, English Department, Wayne State University) is stepping in as CCW’s next executive director. Adrienne has served CCW as a co-chair for the 2025 and 2027 conferences in Detroit, and has had experiences in non-profit stewardship (as a member of the board of directors for the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan), writing program administration (as the Director of Composition for WSU), and community writing (through her long term partnership with Cass Technical High School in Detroit). Adrienne and I will continue to work closely during the transition, and I will continue on in my role as director of the Conference on Community Writing.
With Adrienne’s directorship comes a change in physical address for the organization. A Colorado-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, CCW will operate from a new home office in Detroit, located in the Wayne State English Department. This new home office provides a physical link between the organization’s community work and scholarly/academic resources, and we are grateful to the WSU English Department and Dr. Jaime Goodrich, Professor and Chair, for her support of Adrienne’s directorship of the organization and upcoming 2027 Conference on Community Writing in Detroit. Community engagement is a key part of the department’s strategic plan as the only urban R1 institution in Michigan. While CCW’s physical address and executive director are associated with Wayne State, the Coalition for Community Writing remains an autonomous, independent non-profit organization.
If you are interested in serving as a member of the board of directors and/or on one of our committees, please send a C.V. and brief statement of interest to Adrienne Jankens (dx1044) by November 16, 2026. We are especially looking for members interested in serving on the following committees:
Program Committee
Resources Committee
Membership and Marketing Committee
Finance and Fund Development Committee
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee
If you are interested in serving on the board, responsibilities include:
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Chair or serve as an active participant on one or more committees
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Financially support the organization
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Either through membership at the Supporting Member or Sustaining Member rate (as noted in by-laws)
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Or, through membership at the Individual rate and engaging an institutional sponsorship for the Conference
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Attend board meetings as scheduled
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Attend biennial Conference on Community Writing (in person or virtually)
Board members go up for reelection every 2 years.
Thank you for your continued collaboration! We look forward to seeing you at a CCW event this year.
Sincerely,
Veronica House (with Adrienne Jankens)