• students sitting in rows and listening to class lecture
  • Person leading a writing workshop
  • college students doing group discussions in classroom

Staff Directory

Administration

Erin Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Director
Erin Zimmerman, Ph.D., joins the UNLV Writing Center after a 4-year stint working at the American University of Beirut as an assistant professor in the English Department and director of the Writing Center and Writing in the Disciplines Program. Prior to those Mediterranean Sea views, she was in the Midwest cornfields getting her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at Iowa State…
More

Alanna Bitzel, J.D., M.P.Aff.

Assistant Director
Alanna arrives at UNLV after 13 years with UT Austin’s Athletics Student Services, where she acted as Assistant Director of Supplemental Instruction, Writing and Academic Enrichment. She previously worked at UT's University Writing Center; taught reading development as well as introductory college rhetoric courses; has held leadership roles in the International and South Central Writing Centers…
More

Amie Greene, M.A.

Coordinator
A Las Vegas native, Amie is a double UNLV graduate, receiving her bachelor degree in English and minor in film in 2018 before returning to earn her master’s in English in 2024. Amie's research focuses on the role of women in antiquity, as well as modern adaptations of classical Greek myths. Off-campus, you can find her playing video games, spending too much time at the movies, trying to perfect…
More

Olivia Rojas

Administrative Assistant
Olivia, raised in Las Vegas, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Passionate about making a positive impact, she dedicates her free time to volunteering with community organizations. When she’s not lending a hand, Olivia enjoys attending shows, watching movies, and expressing her creativity through drawing.
More

Shelbi Fitzpatrick

Lead Consultants
Shelbi, born and raised in Las Vegas, graduated from UNLV in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Political Science. Now, she is pursuing an M.A. in literature. Shelbi enjoys studying and focusing on 19th-century British literature. Outside of school, Shelbi enjoys being with her dogs, traveling, and sleeping.
More

Miranda Hannasch

Lead Consultant
Miranda is a PhD student in the UNLV English Department, where she enjoys editing essays, reading reviews, and corralling commas. When not reading or writing, she can be found studying languages and obsessively listening to musicals. Prior to coming to UNLV, she taught in Kyoto, Paris, Santander, Cáceres, and Palma de Mallorca.
More

Lacie McEntire

Lead Consultant
Lacie was born and raised in Las Vegas and is pursuing an M.A. in literature. Their special interest of study resides in occult Modernism, especially during the interwar period of the US. They have always had a passion for teaching and love to help others, especially with writing—both academically and creatively. They like to spend their free time watching movies, playing instruments and…
More

Consultants

Jade Boren

Consultant 
Jade is a first-year student in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program. She grew up on Maui. Prior to UNLV, she graduated from Chapman University with an English B.A. (journalism emphasis) and worked in celebrity news for seven years in L.A. Her interests include horror movies, anime, games, learning Cebuano + Japanese, and animals—especially rodents and horses!  
More

Madison Browne

Consultant
Madison Browne is a consultant and instructor with a master’s in English literature from UNLV. Her award-winning thesis explored the narrative function that conspiracy theories serve in Don DeLillo’s novels. Her research interests include posthuman philosophy, science fiction, and game studies. She has published on the Metal Gear Solid series and discussed it with NPR in a special feature…
More

Shannon Carr

Consultant
Shannon is a Las Vegas native and second-year undergraduate student double-majoring in English and Philosophy. She loves Manchester United, Andrea Dworkin, cooking, and her long-term boyfriend. During breaks, Shannon can be found camping and skiing into trees with her boyfriend.   
More

Qandeel Chevalwala

Consultant
Qandeel is a second-year computer science student at UNLV with a passion for research and crafting compelling arguments. She aspires to work in the field of artificial intelligence in the future. Outside of academics, she enjoys discovering new post-hardcore music and scrolling through cat videos on TikTok.
More

Griffin Coleman

Consultant
Griffin, born and raised in Las Vegas, is a graduate student who received a Bachelor’s degree in English from UNLV. Griffin enjoys books, video games, spending time with the dog, and watching movies - especially sci-fi/fantasy. When not working, you can find Griffin with friends and family, or taking the time to write.
More

Raluca Comanelea

Consultant
Raluca Comanelea is a writing consultant at UNLV’s Writing Center and a part-time instructor in UNLV’s Department of English. She earned her MA in literary studies from UNLV in 2019. She is currently pursuing her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University’s Sena Jeter Naslund-Mann School of Writing. Her fiction has been published in various literary magazines. She was born in Romania and…
More

Zaira Gomez

Consultant
Zaira is a first year student in the Creative Writing UNLV graduate program specializing in creative non-fiction. She hails from the East Coast and deeply misses frolicking in the forest. She believes that a little whimsy and woo can go a long way in this current world. She enjoys action films, yoga in 90 degree weather, thrifting at the bins, and yapping.    
More

Joleen Jones

Consultant
Joleen was born in Central California and later received her Bachelor of Arts in English from UNLV. She is currently a Master’s student at UNLV in the English Department with a focus in Literature and an interest in Aestheticism. She loves art history and Gothic themes in Literature. Some of her favorite authors include Sylvia Plath, Carmen Maria Machado, and Anthony Burgess.  
More

Andrew Killebrew

Consultant 
Andy is a creative writing MFA student at UNLV. He is originally from Lexington, North Carolina, the Barbecue Capital of the World.   
More

Celia Langford

Consultant
Celia is a fiction writer and poet from Seattle, WA. Her educational background is in Asian Studies, and she is passionate about East Asian languages, literature, and art. Celia’s own research is interdisciplinary, and she is excited to help writers from all backgrounds and fields with their writing.
More

Rachel Lopes

Consultant
Rachel is a first-year graduate student in Writing and Rhetoric. As a military brat, she lived all across the U.S. before finally settling down in Las Vegas in 2019. The youngest of four children, she can usually be found bothering her siblings in some way. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games or reading manhwas in the company of her cat and dog.
More

Praise Osawaru

Consultant
Praise Osawaru is a writer whose work appears in The Maine Review, Uncanny Magazine, and Strange Horizons, among others. He is a Creative Writing MFA student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Watering Hole Fellow, and a HUES 2024 Scholar. His work touches on identity and memory, has won the 2021 Valiant Scribe Poetry Prize, and has been nominated for the Best of the Net and Pushcart…
More

Nina Rodenko

Consultant
Nina Rodenko is a fiction MFA student and a reader of all things literary. She calls San Francisco her home, but she was born in Ukraine. In her free time, she keeps finding new ways to procrastinate on homework. As a cinephile and a TV-show connoisseur, she’s never short on distractions.   
More

Karlié Rodríguez

Consultant
Karlié Rodríguez is a nonfiction MFA candidate at UNLV. She loves reading, playing Switch, and watching bad reality TV.   
More

Ella Rosenkranz

Consultant
Ella loves exploring the great outdoors and finds motivation in helping others. She was born in Orlando, Florida and spent most of her life in Manhattan, Kansas. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Couples and Family Therapy. She spends her free time baking, reading all things fiction, and playing Stardew Valley.   
More

Marlan Smith

Consultant
Marlan received his MFA in creative writing from UNLV in 2023. Before that, he earned his MA in English from University of Idaho where he taught first-year composition. He has been published in several science fiction journals and served as a contributing editor and reader for Witness magazine at UNLV. He was also a reader for Fugue Literary Journal during his time at the University of Idaho,…
More

Emily Stevenson

Consultant
A Las Vegas native and certified bookworm, Emily is a first-year graduate student pursuing an M.A. in literature. With a love for all things make-believe, she can usually be found with her nose in the latest horror novel or soaking up cinematic greatness at the movie theater. When it comes to her work, a stack of old notebooks and an extra-large coffee are never far from reach.  
More

Jalees Tamayo

Consultant
Jalees Axia Tamayo (She/Her) is a First Gen Mexican-American Graduate student. She is currently a first year M.A. student in Writing and Rhetoric. She received her English B.A. in Honors with minors in creative writing and poetry from Nevada State University in May 2024. Jalees is a Las Vegas Native who enjoys her time writing, playing Star Wars Battlefront, and collaging.   
More

Madina Tuhbatullina

Consultant
Madina Tuhbatullina is a poet from Turkmenistan. She holds a Creative Writing MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Madina's work has been published or is forthcoming in New American Writing, SRPR, Tar River Poetry, and elsewhere.
More

Mauricio “Mo” Ortiz Zaragoza

Consultant
Mauricio “Mo” Ortiz Zaragoza is a consultant and recent graduate Literature MA student from Las Vegas, his home of 24 years, after immigrating from Querétaro City, Mexico. He has completed his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in film and a graduate certificate from UNLV. He enjoys spending an inordinate amount of his income on vinyl records, 35mm film cameras, and Criterion Collection…
More