Our Crew
IVLC is currently a 100% volunteer-operated nonprofit with plans to expand in the near future. Grow with us! Join our email list or join us at an upcoming event to get involved.
Danny Sherrard
Founder and
Co-Executive Director
Danny Sherrard is a performance poet and creative writing coach. In 2007 he became the youngest person to win the National Individual Poetry Slam in Austin, TX and the following year became the youngest to win the World Poetry Cup in Paris, France. Since then, his writing has appeared in numerous poetry collections, on international television, and, most recently, etched into sculpture on San Juan Island. Sherrard’s passion exists in assisting individuals explore their poetic voices and then to help lift their writing off the page and onto the stage. He is ecstatic to collaborate with Island Verse to amplify the craft of writing and performance in the San Juan archipelago.
Nate Fihn
Co-Executive Director
Nate Fihn lives a Swiss Army Life, as an emcee/lyricist in 2009-2013 he was frontman of a Seattle hip hop group that toured the country, had a local top-selling record in stores, featured in a handful of publications, and enjoyed regular spins on KEXP. In Friday Harbor he built and ran a successful cocktail program for the Friday Harbor House for years until Covid when he started a private event bartending company, Blind Tiger Bar Services. These days he remains committed to the culture in the local community, consistently helming an Open Mic, hosting concerts, and organizing showcases and pop ups with food, fashion, and craft cocktails. Nate is humbled and excited to be the new owner of A Waterworks Gallery where he continues to put on Arts events of all kinds.
Nicole Santora
Nicole Santora is a multidimensional artist with a passion for fostering authentic connections. As Events Coordinator for IVLC, she enjoys creating spaces that nurture vulnerability in both audiences and performers. Recently, she served as Director of Development at San Juan Community Theatre for four years where she raised funds and fostered opportunities for performing arts on the island. With over 15 years in film & television, live theatre, and comedy, she has a deep appreciation for joyful collaboration. Nicole is proud to be part of an incredible family of collaborative artists that is Island Verse Literary Collective.
Shari Garzonetti
Shari Garzonetti is a multi and mixed medium artist originally hailing from the suburbs of Chicago. Shari has always had a passion for expressing herself through the arts whether it’s theatrics, in the studio, or writing anywhere along the way. Shari believes the freedom of artistic expression is a way to advocate for not only the creative being but also a way to voice an artist’s independence and share their purpose in life with the community. Shari has used her degree to pursue work and volunteer services in early childhood education and non-profits with an emphasis on showcasing artists with disabilities.
Since moving to San Juan several years ago, Shari has integrated herself into the local artist scene by regularly sharing poetry and short stories at Open Mic, co-hosting a bimonthly Wrtiers’ Circle, and serving as the inter-island outreach for the IVLC. Shari hopes as the organization grows, we will find more opportunities to not only curate events on all the islands, but also bridge more personal connections with all our unique islands in order to weave and integrate our interisland community at large.
Elise Cope
Elise Cope is an interdisciplinary artist and community organizer with 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Elise attributes her evolution as a poet to IVLC, Writers Circle, and Open Mic in Friday Harbor. Beyond literary arts, Elise explores her aesthetic through botanical jewelry as a metalsmith and graphic design, crafting websites and branding. Currently serving as the Communications and Outreach Director at Friends of the San Juans, Elise makes environmental advocacy accessible to islanders and lovers of the Salish Sea. Having explored the world extensively on foot and sailboat, Elise finds daily rhythm and delight in Friday Harbor where she resides with her two sons amidst the other salty inhabitants that call these islands home.
Essine Kilpatrick-Boe
Essine Kilpatrick is a multi-media artist from Friday Harbor, WA. Essine had a successful online following in visual art in her mid-to-late teens under the moniker Dreemboat. Simultaneously, she was acting on stage or working behind the scenes in at least one show per year (often more!) from ages 10 to 20, culminating in being cast as the lead of Henrietta Leavitt in SJCT's Silent Sky-- her most treasured memory in theater arts, beyond leading workshops at the local elementary school. Forever a journal-er and writer in her big heart, she posts her sappy poems on @honeyjarspoems on Instagram, and hosts a bi-weekly Writers' Circle at A Waterworks Gallery with her dear friend Shari. You can often find her overthinking, taking in a deep whiff of lilac in the spring air, deliriously typing ideas at 1 am, or carving out a sweet spot in her day for her beloved family and magical friends, who inspire her constantly.
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Shauna Barrows
Shauna Barrows hails from the oak savanna hills of Orinda, California, but has been rooted in the Washington wilds for the last decade. Working predominantly as a field technician for land conservation organizations, her writing explores and facilitates the connection between word and place. She has been published in journals such as The Planet and Phantom Drift and wants to help facilitate a deeper relationship between Islanders and the magic woven by this ecocultural landscape.