The Staff of Just Buffalo

Executive Director
ldeant@justbuffalo.org

LAURIE DEAN TORRELL has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership since 2002, Just Buffalo has pioneered strategic collaboration; developed and implemented strategic, marketing and development plans; retained top talent at the staff and board levels; and secured grants and donations to double the budget and bring expanded literary programming to the community including BABEL. In conjunction with Just Buffalo’s 40th Anniversary (2014-2017), Torrell spearheaded JB40—a campaign to fully establish the new Just Buffalo Writing Center, expand visibility and participation, and ensure Just Buffalo’s work and mission remain vital for years to come.

Barbara Cole - Artistic Director - Just Buffalo Literary Center

Artistic Director
bcole@justbuffalo.org

BARBARA COLE is the Artistic Director of Just Buffalo and a 2011 Fellow in Poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Cole began her involvement with Just Buffalo as a teaching artist, working closely with students in the Buffalo Public Schools, before joining the organization as Education Director (2008-2012). Born and raised in Philadelphia, she received her M.A. in Creative Writing—Poetry from Temple University before coming to Buffalo to earn her Ph.D. in English from the University at Buffalo. Since 2000, Cole has been writing the ongoing long poem project affectionately known as foxy moron. In addition to her poetic projects, she edited Poets at Play: An Anthology of Modernist Drama with Sarah Bay-Cheng (Susquehanna University Press, 2010).

Noah Falck - Education Director - Just Buffalo Literary Center

Education Director
nfalck@justbuffalo.org

NOAH FALCK is the author of Exclusions (Tupelo Press, 2020) and Snowmen Losing Weight (BatCat Press, 2012), and several chapbooks including You Are In Nearly Every Future (Dostoyevsky Wannabe, 2017). He co-edited My Next Heart: New Buffalo Poetry (BlazeVox Books, 2017) and has been anthologized in Poem-A-Day 365 Poems for Every Occasion (Abrams Books, 2015). His work has appeared in Boston ReviewColumbia Poetry ReviewDenver QuarterlyKenyon ReviewPloughshares, & Poets.org. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, he now lives in Buffalo, New York, where he works as Education Director at Just Buffalo Literary Center and curates the Silo City Reading Series a multimedia poetry series inside a 130-foot abandoned grain elevator.

Robin Jordan - Staff - Just Buffalo Literary Center

Writing Center Coordinator
rjordan@justbuffalo.org

ROBIN LEE JORDAN’s creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry has been published in various journals, including Dream Pop Press, alice blue review, Puerto del Sol, Paper Darts, Peach Mag, and My Next Heart: New Buffalo Poetry (Blazevox). She received her MFA in Poetry from Oregon State University and is currently working on a mixed-genre collection. She is a founding member of the grassroots community arts project (B)uffalo (A)rt (D)ispensary.

Lynda Kaszubski - Executive Assitant - Just Buffalo Literary Center

Executive Assistant
info@justbuffalo.org

Lynda G. Kaszubski is the shared Executive Assistant for Just Buffalo Literary Center and CEPA Gallery. She brings over 25 years experience in the office environment, having previously co-owned a typesetting service for 15 years before joining Just Buffalo. Ms. Kaszubski has an A.S. in Business Administration from SUNY Empire State College, and is a Notary Public for the State of New York in Erie County.

Founder

Debora Ott

When Just Buffalo Literary Center’s founder, Debora Ott, first heard Robert Creeley’s poem “Love Comes Quietly” as a teenager in New York City, it inspired her to come to the University at Buffalo to study with the poet himself. UB’s English Department was legendary, attracting incredible poets and writers to both its faculty and its student body. Born in 1975 out of that intense period of innovation in the literary arts, Just Buffalo created a new niche, inviting writers out of academia and into the heart of the community.

40 Years of Just Buffalo History

Browse through highlights of noteworthy literary events that Just Buffalo has brought to Western New York, featuring some of the world’s greatest literary talent.

View the Timeline

Meet the Staff

Learn about the individuals whose passion, dedication and commitment make this organization strong.

Meet the Staff

Board of Directors

Just Buffalo’s work would not be possible without the dedication of our committed volunteer board.

Meet the Board

Newsletters & Annual Reports
Newsletters & Annual Reports

Take a look at our archive of newsletters and annual reports.

Read the Archives

BABEL Season Tickets 2019-2020 - Just Buffalo Literary Center - Buffalo NY
BABEL Tickets on Sale Now

Get BABEL Season Tickets

JB40 Stories with Video
https://www.justbuffalo.org/about-just-buffalo/staff/
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