2023 Curriculum Writer of the Year: Kaley O'Hare

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

Words Alive 2023 Curriculum Writer of the Year, Kaley O’Hare, is an incredible volunteer with an eye for detail and a boundless enthusiasm to take on multiple projects.

Kaley is from Southern California and graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara last summer. She now lives in Northern California and works as an Urgent Care Medical Scribe as she prepares to apply to medical school for the upcoming admissions cycle.

While Kaley loves a good story, she believes books do much more than just tell a tale. “Books can develop our creativity and imagination, critical thinking, change our viewpoints, connect people worldwide, and much more.” Words Alive caught her eye when she was searching for ways to volunteer, and she was hooked when she got the chance to read and create a curriculum. She spent 130 volunteer hours this past year as a Curriculum Writer, Editor, and Designer dedicated to producing high-quality curriculum guides for teens in the Adolescent Book Group. As a writer, she focuses on identifying the essential messages in each book and developing questions that build the student’s critical thinking skills as they explore the book’s key messages. A true pinch-hitter, Kaley is an incredible writer and assists with curriculum editing and design. In her free time, she writes short stories and even dabbles in animating. Kaley enjoys how her work on the curriculum team has expanded the diversity of books she reads and finds significant meaning in the thought that her work on these curriculum guides may contribute to shaping the story of the student’s lives, both in and out of the classroom.

Volunteering with Words Alive has also helped Kaley grow as a reader – her critical thinking and analytical skills while writing curriculum guides have become second nature when reading anything, helping her more deeply connect with the text. “I’m immensely proud to be a volunteer with Words Alive, where I have developed just as much of a love for learning from creating guides as the students who will use them. It’s incredible being part of a team that works toward ensuring that students and families can thrive through the power of literacy!” She hopes to stay on board with Words Alive in her current role and possibly additional roles. Kaley, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Curriculum Writer of the Year!

Book recommendation: She is currently (re)reading Firekeeper’s Daughter. She also highly recommends Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World and When You Trap a Tiger for middle-school readers and Firekeeper’s Daughter and The Henna Wars for high-schoolers!

2023 Rookie of the Year: Mary Tibiatowski

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Rookie of the Year honoree Mary Tibiatowski joined Words Alive this fall and has already significantly impacted the organization!

Mary was born and raised in Kansas City and attended Kansas State College. In talking about what sparked her love of reading, Mary feels lucky to have a family and excellent elementary school teachers who actively encouraged her love of books. When she was 20, she traveled to San Diego with a friend and never returned to Kansas. Kansas’ loss was our gain! Mary initially worked part-time in an accounting firm while raising her two kids, Cynda and Cleis. Her daughter was diagnosed with a rare hereditary condition when she was ten, and as a result, Mary needed flexibility in her working hours, so she became an outside independent controller for mid-sized construction companies. Mary is an avid camper and has done volunteer research work on the Belize coral reef. She also describes her travels to Africa as being the most impactful experience of her life. 

Mary is now semi-retired and hopes to be completely retired by the end of this year. She had known for years that she wanted to help promote literacy in our local community, so she contacted California Volunteers, and they pointed her toward Words Alive. Her first role at Words Alive was reading to first graders at Hamilton Elementary. She loves reading to the first graders in her classes and is delighted to hear when the students have shared their Words Alive books with their families. Mary picked up three classrooms as a volunteer reader in the Read Aloud Program! “‘There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away.’ This quote from Emily Dickinson has always been a favorite of mine and speaks to the essence of reading adventures.” In addition to the Read Aloud, Mary has helped create craft kits, worked on administrative data input, and is a Page Turner. Mary is excited to start two new volunteer opportunities at Words Alive: a new program called Words Matter, a training program for reading volunteers, and she will also start volunteering with the Family Literacy program. Mary, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning Rookie of the Year!

Book recommendations: Mary usually has 3 books going simultaneously: one for her book club, an audiobook in the car, and a Words Alive Page Turners book. She is now reading Ducks - Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton for Book Club, Muzzled by David Rosenfelt as an audiobook, and Love Like Sky by Leslie Youngblood for Page Turners.

2023 Westreich Scholarship Service & Mentorship Award: Bijan Nowroozian

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Westreich Scholarship Service and Mentorship Award awardee Bijan Nowroozian is an amazingly accomplished volunteer. Bijan is a librarian who grew up in El Cajon, a suburb of San Diego, and graduated from Grossmont College, San Diego State University, and San Jose State University. Interestingly, Bijan’s mother was a librarian, so he grew up surrounded by books. Growing up the local library was his place of refuge, a safe space he would visit every day after school to relax, study, and immerse himself in books. In college, he discovered a love for non-fiction and poetry. He has recently enjoyed the world of graphic novels and appreciates a good audiobook while working out. In addition to reading, Bijan also enjoys hiking, playing video games, and running obstacle course races.

Bijan was working for the San Diego Public Library while getting his graduate degree when he started to feel that he wasn’t actively using all the skills he had picked up in his undergraduate and graduate work. Specifically, he wanted hands-on experience in the classroom. He searched online and found Words Alive. He was intrigued by the organization because it shared many of his same values and philosophies regarding learning and literacy. He started volunteering at Words Alive as the team lead for the Adolescent Book Group (ABG) program. He would visit 2-3 classrooms weekly and lead the class in book discussions, writing prompts, activities, games, and art projects that all revolved around the book the students were reading. In addition to his ABG work, Bijan joined the Words Alive Westreich Scholarship (WAWS) program as a volunteer. He initially assisted in screening applications, facilitating interviews, and scoring applicants. Once the program transitioned to a more volunteer-focused structure, he was offered the role of Chair of the WAWS Taskforce.

Although Bijan no longer lives in San Diego, he would love to continue to be involved with Words Alive. “Helping others is a true passion of mine, and it's important always to give back whenever possible.” Bijan, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Westreich Scholarship Service and Mentorship Award

Book recommendations: Bijan recommends: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings, and Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard (for young children). The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (for teens) and The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou (for adults)

2023 Westreich Scholarship Service & Mentorship Award: Tyler Pratt

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Westreich Scholarship Service and Mentorship Award winner Tyler Pratt is an academically accomplished volunteer. Tyler grew up in Augusta, Georgia, read voraciously as a child, and especially loved the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. He went on to get his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, his master’s degree from Stanford University, and his doctoral degree from Princeton University. He currently teaches and researches political science at Yale University. His research at Yale focuses on how states cooperate with each other and the “fragmentation of global governance,” and the consequences of this on cooperation.

Tyler was looking for volunteer opportunities during the pandemic and happened to find Words Alive through an online search. He is a mentor in the Words Alive Westreich Scholarship (WAWS) program and Deputy Chair of the WAWS task force. He mentors Andrea, one of the scholarship recipients earning her degree in Sociology at George Fox University. He constantly communicates with his mentee and helps her find her voice. He is passionate about helping the Westreich scholars and always has a positive attitude and open mind. Tyler described his motivation to volunteer at Words Alive: “I benefited from a couple of great mentors when I was young, and I love having the opportunity to pass it forward in some way. The Words Alive scholarship students I interact with are bright, ambitious, and really inspiring.” Tyler also designs and implements bi-monthly workshops to help scholars with life skills (e.g., public speaking and communication, tax prep, and financial literacy). While the scholarship program is winding down this year, he would love to stay involved with Words Alive.

Tyler spends most of his free time with his wife and two young kids. He is also taking pilot lessons, which has been a fun hobby. Tyler, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Westreich Scholarship Service and Mentorship Award!

Book recommendation: The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik, “a great book about child development and the relationship between parents and children.” 

2023 Youth Volunteer of the Year: Amanda Luong

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

Words Alive 2023 Youth Volunteer of the Year, Amanda Luong, is from San Diego, California, and a senior at Mt. Carmel High School, planning to attend a 4-year university majoring in Biology or Linguistics.

Interestingly, Amanda wasn’t particularly fond of reading in the past because it was hard for her to find books that she knew she would enjoy and the options seemed overwhelming. But at the beginning of 2022, she came across BookTok on TikTok. BookTok gave her a sampling of the books people read and recommended. She became hooked after reading They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera and went on to read 30 books in 2022! So, BookTok sparked Amanda’s love of reading.

In 2021, when the world was quarantined, Amanda sought opportunities to connect virtually and came across Words Alive. She got in touch with the organizations and quickly became involved. At Words Alive, Amanda is part of the Engagement Analysts team. She keeps track of volunteer hours, logging the hours each volunteer has contributed and ensuring they are correctly recorded. This job requires meticulous attention to detail, and Amanda has learned to be highly organized and efficient with inputting the hours. She hopes to stay involved with Words Alive even when she is in college. Amanda, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Youth Volunteer of the Year!

Book recommendation: Amanda is enjoying Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. She would also recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. 

2023 Curriculum Editor of the Year: Win Ning Chen

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Curriculum Editor of the Year, Win Ning Chen, is a remarkable volunteer with a unique hobby; in her spare time, she builds terrariums that are “aesthetically pleasing and super cute!” Win Ning grew up in Malaysia, and as a child, she always loved reading because it allowed her to travel to different worlds by pretending to be different characters in the books she read.

In 2021, Win Ning embarked on an adventure of her own when she moved approximately 9,000 miles away from her childhood home to San Diego, taking on a position as a research assistant working on aging and neuroscience in the biomedical sector. Win Ning finds that reading has improved her ability to communicate and write, as English is not her first language.

Win heard about Words Alive from a colleague while looking for volunteer opportunities. At Words Alive, Win Ning works carefully to edit the curricula developed by the writing team. Win Ning’s attention to detail has been instrumental in producing a final polished product that is usable and comprehensible to all readers. Win edited seven curriculum guides in 2022, the same year she joined Words Alive, and has quickly become an invaluable team member. Win Ning is passionate about ensuring everyone can access quality reading materials and education.

Win Ning’s love for learning is evident as she describes the knowledge from reading the Words Alive books and curricula as powerful! She hopes to continue working as Curriculum Editor and would also like to expand her role to work as a mentor for teens at Words Alive. “Volunteering with Words Alive allows me to effectively contribute to society by providing the community with quality reading and teaching materials that are creative, innovative, and aim to create the love for reading, writing, and education as a whole.” Win Ning, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning Curriculum Editor of the Year!

Book recommendation: Win is currently reading, When Breath Becomes Air, a non-fiction autobiographical book written by American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi who recently died of lung cancer at age 37. Another classic book she would recommend is Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton! (She loves dinosaurs!)

2023 Family Literacy Program Volunteer of the Year: Ryan Chang

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

Our Family Literacy Program Volunteer of the Year, Ryan Chang, is an incredibly energetic and talented volunteer who loves seeing the transformation in the students he works with, from participants with varying degrees of enthusiasm for books at the program’s start to consistently confident and engaged participants by the end of the program.

Ryan grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and joined the United States Naval Academy immediately after high school. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2016 with a BS in Control Systems Engineering and is an active-duty Navy officer, a senior logistics officer for VRM-50 in the Osprey V-22 aviation squadron. As part of his duties, he is responsible for his squadron’s logistical and financial needs, including procuring all gear and life support materials for over 40 pilots and aircrew and acquiring all the replacement parts and tools necessary to maintain the aircraft.

Ryan has always loved reading and read voraciously at an early age. As a Naval officer in Coronado, he searched for an organization that would allow him to volunteer in an area he was passionate about. He stumbled across the Words Alive website, signed up as a volunteer, and worked for one “semester” as an Adolescent Book Group facilitator and two “semesters” as a Family Literacy Program teacher. While reading has helped him garner academic and professional success, Ryan points to a less obvious benefit: it has made him “a more adventurous, cultured, and empathetic person.” Ryan’s adventurous spirit is evident in his work and hobbies: he is an avid traveler and eater. His empathy is demonstrated in his interactions with his students. He invites all the children’s voices into the Family Literacy Workshop, visibly sharing his love of reading with the group. Ryan also points out that his relationship with reading has evolved as he has worked with Words Alive. “I always enjoyed reading for the stories they’ve told, but as I’ve gotten older, I have been paying more attention to the life lessons these stories can tell us, not just the entertainment.”

Ryan recently applied to business school and is deciding between MIT Sloan and Columbia Business School. He believes his work with Words Alive played a role in his business school acceptance, as it demonstrated his commitment to mentorship and community. Ryan hopes to continue to work with Words Alive. “Although it’s a little far away, I’m hopeful I can still teach online if my schedule permits!” Ryan, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning Family Literacy Program Volunteer of the Year!

Book recommendation: Ryan is a big fantasy reader and is currently reading The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. His favorite fantasy novels are the Game of Thrones series - he read the series long before the TV show came out and highly recommends it! He also recommends The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

2023 Learning Kit Legend: Mary Petrowski

Profile written by Ben Hollingshead, volunteer

Words Alive 2023 Learning Kit Legend of the Year Mary Petrowski is a remarkably humble and understated volunteer, but with her incredible attention to detail, organization, and efficiency is an absolute force at the Words Alive craft parties!

Mary was born and raised in the suburbs of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and lived there for the first 30 years of her life, getting her B.S. in Biochemistry and M.S. in Animal Physiology and working as a molecular biologist at the University of Minnesota. She later worked for San Diego biotech start-ups and pharmaceutical companies. She is most proud of the role of being a mom to her son and daughter, who currently live in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

Mary reads newspapers and non-fiction and sees reading as a way to learn. When she retired in 2009, she wanted to work to help children and families and knew that literacy is foundational to the success of both children and adults. She was especially interested in investing time in helping to level the playing field for children who, through no fault of their own, do not have the opportunities of more privileged kids. She wanted to volunteer with effective and efficient organizations that tracked their outcomes and impact. She found Words Alive through the San Diego Council on Literacy and was impressed with the organization’s data-driven approach to improving literacy. She initially considered working with the Family Literacy program but knew she had limited time to volunteer as she was also volunteering for a pollical action group. So, she started working in the office as part of Crafty Crew, which allowed her to help as her schedule permitted. She enjoys meeting new people at the Craft Parties, allowing her to interact with people she would never have met.

When Mary is not volunteering, she confesses to spending “altogether too much time watching college and professional football games.” She also keeps active by walking her dog and doing barre and interval classes. She recently took up Tai Chi and Mahjong and jokes, “They have not become an obsession...yet!” 

Mary, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on being named Learning Kit Legend of the Year!

Book recommendation: She recently read the novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, which she describes as “a light, entertaining read!”

2023 Read Aloud Volunteer of the Year: James Craft

Profile written by Ben Hollingshead, volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Read Aloud Volunteer of the Year, James Craft, is a Renaissance man with fascinating life experience spanning the gamut from musical performance to defense manufacturing.

James was born in 1951 at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, but he lived here for less than 8 months before his father, a career Navy man, moved. He then had a nomadic existence for the next several years, including five fascinating years as a teenager in Rome, Italy, before returning to San Diego to attend the University of San Diego. After college, James worked in musical instrument retail and manufacturing, then recording engineering and audio system design, and later as a performing musician. He returned to college for an additional electronic technology degree and worked for a local military and commercial radio manufacturer, Datron World Communications. While he stayed with that Datron for almost 25 years, he continued to travel to service communication systems on all five continents. James has been married to Julie DeMeules since 1974, and together they have two sons and daughters-in-law. James is now working what he describes as his best job, a “Professional Grandfather” to three young kids aged 3, 6, and 8.

As a Navy brat, James’ travels fed his voracious appetite for reading. His time growing up in Europe and work-related and vacation travels to Europe, Africa, and Asia “opened his eyes to a larger world and a sense of history.” James enjoys non-fiction and fiction, especially science fiction, political thrillers, and alternative history (e.g., “What if Rome had not fallen”). After he retired, James and his wife joined a philanthropic organization called Social Venture Partners (SVP), and it was through SVP that they were introduced to Words Alive. James’ activities at Words Alive have been almost exclusively focused on classroom reading at the Pre-K level. He has volunteered at the same school for years and has seen students grow, develop their love for reading, and expand their horizons. He hopes to similarly expand his classroom reading at Words Alive to include kindergarten and 1st grade. James, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on being honored as our Read Aloud Volunteer of the Year!

Book recommendations: In non-fiction, anything by authors Ron Chernow, David McCullough, Barbara W. Tuchman, and Robert D. Kaplan. For fiction, Mark Twain, Harper Lee, Harry Turtledove, Tony Hillerman, and Tom Clancy. He is reading Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Party, and the Transformation of American Democracy by Sidney Milkis. For children’s books, James loves author Mo Willems.

2023 Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year: Esther Kim

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year awardee Esther Kim is a gifted translator and editor who works on translating Words Alive reading kits from English to Korean.

Originally from Daegu, South Korea, Esther’s family moved to northern Virginia when she was very young. While Esther finds it hard to pinpoint what sparked her interest in reading, she knows it started when she immigrated to the United States. “At a time of drastic transition from one place to another (and from one language to another), I often found solace in literature.” Esther found immersing herself in the world of the characters in the novels to be a comforting and enriching experience that sustained and reinvigorated her. After high school, she went to Georgetown University for her undergraduate degree in Accounting and Japanese, and she spent a few years after graduating in public accounting. She is enjoying a gap year before she attends Columbia Law School this fall.

Esther found Words Alive on Volunteer Match as she was looking to work on something meaningful during her gap year. Since she started to volunteer with Words Alive in July 2022, she has completed nine translations and edited four translated drafts. In talking about what her volunteer work means to her, Esther shared that she gets a lot of joy and fulfillment knowing that the work she does as a translator is shared with Korean families in San Diego, families who share her background and upbringing. Esther believes that “reading is one of the best ways to immerse in the lives of others while appreciating the beauty of language. I volunteer with Words Alive to help cultivate a love for literature and reading among students and their families.”

This extraordinary volunteer loves to ski in her spare time, is a massive fan of the X-Games, and listens to Japanese rock. Esther, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year!

Book Recommendation: Esther is currently reading Island by Aldous Huxley. Some of her other recommendations include: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner