Our Leadership Team
The CUWP leadership model brings K-12 educators and university faculty together as co-directors of each local site. This shared governance is the core of school-university partnerships and teacher leadership. Each member of CUWP’s leadership team is a teacher committed to the teaching of writing and excited about building and nurturing professional communities with other writing teachers.
CUWP Leadership
Dr. Amber Jensen, Director (2022-present)
Assistant Professor of English, Brigham Young University
Northern Virginia Writing Project (NVWP) ’13; CUWP ’20
Dr. Brian Jackson, Faculty Associate Director (2025-present)
Professor of English, Brigham Young University
I’ve been teaching college writing for 24 years. Maybe in the next 24 I’ll learn how to do it right, esp. with the help of all these lovely collaborators. Till then I’ll teach students to fight off the robot writing tools with this one truth: We level up in the struggle.
Megan McOmber, Associate Director of Professional Learning
English Teacher, Springville Junior High School
CUWP ’21
Joseph Wiederhold, Associate Director of TC Leadership & Community
English Teacher, Provo High School
CUWP ’12
I owe much of who I am and how I approach writing to the CUWP community. My first Summer Institute helped reconnect me to my passion for writing. That love led me to earning an MFA in Writing For Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I am currently working toward a PhD in Composition and Applied Linguistics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. And yet, everything I have learned since CUWP feels like a natural extension from learning I started during my first Summer Institute. CUWP is woven into the fabric of who I am and what I do.
Leah Parks, Associate Director of Young Writers & Family Engagement
English Teacher, Orem Junior High School
CUWP ’23
I am a logophile. This love drove me to a degree in English Teaching with a minor in Spanish teaching. I love helping students recognize the impact of words. As a mom of 2 children, if my students can leave my class with the same intensity to communicate that my almost 2-year-old experiences, then I consider my job well done. I currently teach at Orem Junior High and have been there for 5 years.
Paul Erwin, Associate Director of Young Writers & Family Engagement
English, Creative Writing, ASL Teacher, Salem Hills High School & BYU
CUWP ’24
Liz Nelson, Associate Director of Outreach & Partnerships
English Education Professor, Utah Valley University
CUWP ’15
Emeritus CUWP Leadership
Dr. Debbie Dean, CUWP Founder (2009-2022)
Professor of English, Brigham Young University
CUWP ’09
Dr. Chris Crowe Assoc. Director (2009-2023)
Professor of English, Brigham Young University
Greater Phoenix Area Writing Project (ASU) ’83, CUWP Fellow ’09
Dr. Jon Ostenson, Faculty Associate Director (2023-2025)
Associate Professor of English, Brigham Young University
CUWP ’10
Meet the CUWP Director
Dr. Amber Jensen became the director of the Central Utah Writing Project in July 2022 after co-directing the site with its founding director, Debbie Dean since 2019. Amber is eager to take part in the legacy of the site and the energy of its 200+ existing teacher fellows. We invite you to watch this video to learn more about Amber and how her own participation as a writing project fellow has influenced her professional life.
Our Advisory Board
Each year, the leadership team invites up to 10 CUWP fellows to participate on an annual advisory board whose mission it is to strengthen the community of CUWP by reviewing, imagining, and implementing project related to the core mission of the site.
If you are a CUWP Fellow who is interested in participating in a future advisory board, please reach out and let us know by emailing us at cuwp@byu.edu.
2025-2026 Advisory Board Members
Professional Learning
- Stacy Selk, Literacy Specialist Jordan School District
Leadership & Continuity
- Brandon Merrill, Maple Mountain High School
- Whitney Sorensen, Kwajelein Jr./Sr. High School
Young Writers & Families
- Lori Muir, Salem High School
Outreach & Partnerships
- Jessica Ashurst, Copper Hills High School