The Nature of Words Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors

Julia Kennedy Cochran and Christine Coffin bring a wealth of valuable experience to their new positions.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ellen Waterston, Director
The Nature of Words
Phone: 541.330.4381
Email: info@thenatureofwords.org
Website: www.thenatureofwords.org

The Nature of Words Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors

Bend, Ore. February 18, 2010. The Nature of Words, Central Oregon's premier literary organization, recently welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors: Julia Kennedy Cochran and Christine Coffin. Each will serve a three-year term.

Julia Kennedy Cochran was a journalist for 10 years in New York, working for the Associated Press, Reuters, and Business Week magazine. She also free-lanced for The New York Times and Barron's. She later worked as a marketing manager for high tech companies in New York and Seattle. After retiring to Bend, she was a regular contributor to Bend Living magazine and Bend Business Review for four years. Cochran has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. She is currently writing a biography of her father, Edward Kennedy, who was a famous war correspondent during World War II.

Christine Coffin is director of communications and outreach for Oregon State University-Cascades Campus. Prior to joining the OSU-Cascades staff, Coffin spent 10 years as director of communications and marketing for Chief Executives Organization, an international association based in Bethesda, Md.Coffin also has worked as assistant director of the London Town Foundation, a non-profit organization in Edgewater, Md., that oversees a 26-acre historic site that includes the archaeological remains of an 18th-century town. She also has worked as a public information officer for the Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Department of Parks and Recreation, an executive assistant in the office of the Maryland governor, and as marketing director for Homestead Gardens in Maryland. Coffin is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park, with a degree in English literature.

These Board members join existing Board members David Bilyeu, President, library director, Central Oregon Community College; Margaret Heater, Vice-President, retired corporate insurance executive; Karen Poulsen, Secretary, Owner, Bella Moda fashion retail store,and Susan Humphrey, Treasurer, accountant with Greer Mahr & Associates LLP. In addition to the executive committee, the Board is brought to a full complement by Neil Browne, Assistant Professor of English-Oregon State University-Cascades Campus; John Kvapil, principal, DKA Architecture; Peter Lovering, Immediate past-president, poet; John Martin, president, John Martin Landscapes; Sandra Miller, private art consultant and former art gallery owner; Margie Robberson, retired International Baccalaureate English teacher; and Kyle Wuepper, attorney, Bryant Lovlien & Jarvis PC.

About The Nature of Words

The mission of The Nature of Words is to foster an appreciation of the literary arts and humanities in the High Desert region of the Northwest through community interaction with acclaimed authors, and through creative writing programs for high school and college-age students in the region. The Nature of Words annual literary festival is scheduled for November 3-7, 2010. Other programs include the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition for writers ages 15-25, a Creative-Writing-in-the-Schools program and the Storefront Project offering drop-in creative writing workshops. Both of these programs are designed for area middle- and high-school students.

More information about The Nature of Words is available at www.thenatureofwords.org, via email at info@thenatureofwords.org or by calling The Nature of Words office at 541.330.4381.

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