LITERARY
VOLUNTEERING
The Women's Prison Book Project
Bright Light Stories in the Night annual event
East Freedom Library's Banned Book Event-September 2022
Howling Bird Press volunteer student editor
COMMITMENTS
MN Poetry Out Loud Judge 2022
Nutshells Writing Collective, ongoing
Poetry for Healthcare website, defunct
Witness Writers Workshop, on-going
Carpenter Nature Center Writing Workshop, organizer
MN State Arts Board Individual grants 2021, 2022 reviewer
MIPA Awards: 2020, 2021, 2022, judge
Current or past member of LOMP: League of Minnesota Poets, Women of Words, The Loft Literary Center, AWP, The Academy of American Poets
FEATURES
Opening night feature Natural Heritage Art Centre, November
Midstream Reading Series reading, September 2022
Solidary Gallery, East Side Library reading, September 2022
The Night Heron Barks AWP offsite reading, 2022
Friends of the Mississippi River 2021 Gala Featured Story
Belwin Bison 50th Celebration Poetry Reading Summer 2021
Bakken Museum guest author Women in Science
HEP Annual Meeting Keynote speaker, 2018
FOP2 guest speaker
Err Artists event at Honey, Mpls live poetry reading, 2019
Contributor for Creatopia Magazine, 2021
AWARDS
Midway Journal Under -1000 prose poetry contest, Finalist, 2022
International Human Rights Art Festival, Honorable mention 2021, prose
Recipient of two Nautilus Awards
EDUCATION
Augsburg University MFA in Creative Writing 2019-2021
PROFESSIONAL
Workshop offerings at Natural Heritage Art Center, coming soon
Copper Canyon Press Internship Fall 2021-December, 2021
Coffee House Press Internship Spring 2020
The Loft Literary Center teacher Summer 2020, CNF
Editing class with Steve Woodword, The Loft, attendee
Iowa Writing Festival 2018 with Jude Nutter, attendee
Taught Write and Stay Writing and Exploring Poetry, WOW Writing Conference September 2018
Taught Working with a Publicist at Rosemount Literary Festival, 2018
Poetry and book club teacher, Creators Space summer 2018, Writing Ambassador
FOR FUN
NaNoWriMo 2017
ARTIST BIO
Cole W. Williams is the author of Hear the River Dammed: Poems from the Edge of the Mississippi (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2017) as well as several books for children. Her poems have appeared in various journals, as well as in a number of anthologies. Williams is a graduate from the MFA program at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.
WATER
PROFESSIONAL
Commissioner, Cottage Grove Parks and Natural Resources Commission, elected 2021
co Vice-President of the Board of Managers, South Washington Watershed District elected 2021-present
Prior Board member, FOP2 Friends of Pool, 2017-2018
Prior serving member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for South Washington Watershed District
EDUCATION
B.S. in Biology, University of Minnesota
Minnesota Water Steward graduate from the 2017-2018 program, ongoing
Aquatic Invasive Species training, U of MN Extensions detector
MN Master Naturalist Program, Big Woods and Rivers, 2022
GRANTS
Recipient of grants from Clean Water Fund, Washington County Conservation District, South Washington Watershed District, NWW Watershed Sub-grant for restoration through MN Water Stewards
Wrote and secured a 1Mississippi grant for FOP2
Installation of a prairie (5,500 sq. ft.) shoreline buffer along the Mississippi River
Installation of a broad seed prairie (quarter acres) along Mississippi River
VOLUNTEERING
Community organizer of Mississippi River cleanups including coordinating sponsorship through TerraCycle and Bridgestone
Organized speakers the 2018 annual Reach the River meeting and Letter Writing
Avid volunteer for FMR: Friends of the Mississippi River Great River Greening, The Xerxes Society, Mississippi Park Connection and more
Past or current member of LPLA Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, FOP2, HEP, Great River Greening, Xerxes Society
Lead volunteer for Great River Greening restoration events
Lawn to Legumes coach for funded restoration projects
FEATURES
Friends of the Mississippi River 2021 Gala Featured Story
Organized Night for the River in St. Louis with Dean Klinkenberg and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment
FB: Coal Train
Insta: Coal Train_999
LinkedIN: Cole Williams
