staff|volunteers|board|former volunteers

Catherine Killingsworth (Executive Director) studied English with a Writing Concentration at Yale University, where she graduated magna cum laude and won the Curtis Prize for her academic writing and the Wright Prize for her creative writing. She also won the Thouron scholarship to study creative writing at Cambridge in 2006 and the Wagster, Cepeda-O’Leary, and Richter fellowships to conduct independent research in Argentina in 2007. She is the author of Writing Wednesdays, Deep's guidebook to teaching creative writing. Catherine is currently leading a workshop at Meyers Middle School, as well as the boys high school workshop at Scott Alternative Learning Center.

Hartford Gongaware (Creative Director) graduated Summa Cum Laude from Princeton University and holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Irvine. Over the years, he has taught English, writing and creative writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels, and he has studied or worked with writers including Gore Vidal, Joyce Carol Oates, Russell Banks, Pinckney Benedict, Mona Simpson, Geoffrey Wolff, Robert Olmstead and Michelle Latiolais. One of the founders of Silverpoint.Net, and formerly Senior Staff Writer with Amanda Gillespie, Inc., he is currently at work on a novel and a children’s book.

Sarah Bates (Volunteer Coordinator) received her B.F.A. from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studied Motion Graphics, Graphic Design and Creative Writing. Sarah believes children should learn in all they do, and that art and writing are valuable tools which help children express themselves. She is the former Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Tidbits Media, Inc.'s trivia newspaper, Tidbits, was a teacher's assistant at Fort Dale Academy, a classroom teacher and Youth leader with various organizations, and a Resident Assistant and summer programs' assistant for several years at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She finds that a majority of the joy in life comes to her in the smiling faces of the children with whom she works. The longer she works with Deep, the more she is convinced that second grade might be the best age. Sarah is currently leading two workshops at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Empire—Frank Callen unit.

Kim Reilly (Education Liaison) attended Armstrong Atlantic State University and graduated cum laude with her Bachelors of Arts in English. She hopes to one day have a classroom of her own, but loves Deep so much that she may never leave (this is when she begins to think about a 401K and the awesomeness of working for Deep for the rest of her life). She may not be witty, but she has an attitude the size of a mountain and it comes in handy with those rambunctious kids. As Catherine says, "She is a little boy whisperer" (meaning that she gets inside the minds of teenage boys and learns how to talk their language). She has always wanted to be a teacher, but never knew her strengths in the classroom. Thanks to Deep and its opportunities, she will be able to go into a future classroom with the strength, the knowledge, and the confidence to handle anything that may be thrown at her (literally and figuratively). Kim is currently teaching at DeRenne Middle School and the boys high school workshop at Scott Alternative Learning Center.