Staff
Joan Cusack Handler
Publisher & Senior Editor
joan@cavankerrypress.org
As the founder of CavanKerry Press, Joan is a poet and memoirist, a psychologist in clinical practice, and a blogger for PsychologyToday.com (“Of Art and Science”). Her poems have been widely published and have received awards from The Boston Review and five Pushcart nominations. A Bronx native, she has four published books and currently resides in Brooklyn and the East Hamptons. Joan is married to a great man and fellow psychologist, has a loving son and daughter-in-law, and two amazing granddaughters.
Dr. Jonathan H. Spinner
Fundraising Director & Board Liaison
jonathan@cavankerrypress.org
Jonathan Spinner has been involved in the not-for-profit world for more than 40 years in executive and fundraising positions with small agencies and national and international organizations. A native of Brooklyn, a graduate of City College of New York, and holder of a PhD from Michigan State University in English Literature, Jonathan is delighted to bring all the skills he has learned to benefit CavanKerry Press.
Gabriel Cleveland
Managing Editor
gabriel@cavankerrypress.org
Gabriel Cleveland is a poet and fiction writer with an MFA in Creative Writing from Pine Manor College. Along with Joan Cusack Handler, he co-edited Places We Return To, a 20th Anniversary retrospective on the publishing history of the press. An avid video gamer and music lover, he hosts The Andover Special, a weekly internet radio program on HomeGrownRadioNJ. Gabriel is also a mental health advocate, often working online to raise awareness, visibility, and money for psychological and psychosocial issues. He has spent several years in the field of caregiving for people with increased physical and/or mental needs and wants you to know that you’re not alone.
Dimitri Reyes
Marketing & Communications Director
dimitri@cavankerrypress.org
Dimitri Reyes is a Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist, YouTuber, & Artist-in-Residence at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He read at events such as #PoetsforPuertoRicoNewark, Dodge Poetry Festival, Split This Rock, Busboys and Poets, & the American Poetry Museum. Dimitri’s forthcoming book, Every First and Fifteenth is the winner of the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Award. His work has been nominated for Best of the Net and can be found in Vinyl, Duende, Cosmonauts, Obsidian & others. Learn more about Dimitri by visiting his website at https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com/
Elena Neoh
Marketing Assistant
elena@cavankerrypress.org
Elena Neoh is a storyteller who is fiercely passionate about words. On paper, her degree in Human Resources and Creative Writing is complemented by her experience as a songwriter, music journalist, IT content writer as well as senior editor. Her works have been featured in Luna Negra, LivewireAu, AFS Intercultural and more. ** In her journey of compiling a book of euphemisms, she aspires to meet the ingenious minds behind written works and touch the hearts of readers.
Board Members
Carol Snyder, President Emeritus
Retired Human Resources Director for major chemical company
Joan Cusack Handler, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Poet, Publisher
Alan Handler, Ph.D.
Retired psychologist and learning center owner/director
David Handler
Violinist & composer; co-founder/co-director of (le) poisson rouge arts venue
José Angel Araguz
José Angel Araguz is a CantoMundo fellow and author most recently of An Empty Pot’s Darkness. His poems, prose, and reviews have appeared in Crab Creek Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Bind. He runs The Friday Influence and teaches in the Solstice Low-Residency MFA program as well as at Suffolk University where he serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Salamander Magazine.
Cornelius Eady
Cornelius Eady’s seven poetry collections include: Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, winner of the 1985 Lamont Prize; The Gathering of My Name, nominated for a 1992 Pulitzer Prize; and Hardheaded Weather (Putnam, 2008). He is co-founder of the
Cave Canem Foundation and a professor of English at SUNY Stony Brook Southampton.
Lars Lichtenfeld
Published author with extensive experience researching and writing on mental health issues for the military and government agencies. Mr. Lichtenfeld has had his work on activity duty and veteran suicide presented at the Pentagon and the highest levels of the Federal government.
Senior Vice President of Capitol Hill Consulting Group, she represents clients on legislative, regulatory, and international matters before the US Congress and the White House and has been at the center of women’s initiatives as a member of the Feminist Majority Future PAC Board, which supports state and local women candidates
Manager of merchandising and sourcing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with 13 years of global merchandising experience from her time at Brooks Brothers
