Hello! I’m Ris, a writer, editor, educator, and founding instructor of The New Commons. 

At heart, I’m half literary-arts nerd, half digital-media geek, with a passion for media literacy, rhetorical argument, speculative fiction, and both classic and contemporary literature. I’ve worked professionally across the spectrum of university teaching, media communications and high-level corporate marketing, always with a focus on storytelling and art-making as the essential ingredients for human connection and community. 

I have an MFA in English from the University of California, Irvine, where I also taught rhetoric, research and creative writing as a graduate instructor. My favorite courses to teach were the capstone writing seminar for all non-humanities majors, covering advanced research techniques, longform argument, media bias and moral foundations theory, as well as Society, Law and Literature, an upper division English seminar bringing dystopian literary classics into conversation with modern First Amendment legal theory and case law. I also previously served as a one-on-one English tutor in the Learning Resource Center at Cypress College, focusing on basic to advanced grammar, diction, research and argumentation, with a particular focus on ESL students, older returning students, and students with disabilities. 

As an instructor, my goal is always to help students develop, sharpen and confidently wield their own voice, equipping them with the skills they need to navigate and advance the modern media and discourse landscape.   

Beyond teaching, I also worked as head of marketing for a global audio company, spearheading brand messaging, market research and media relations across both domestic and international markets. While at UCI, I also served as the Poetry Editor of Faultline Journal of Arts & Letters, a Pushcart-prize winning literary journal. These days, I predominantly work as the co-founding and Managing Editor of Copytext Magazine.

Mostly, though, I’m a lover of good books, weird art and rich conversation. If you feel the same, you’re in the right place. Welcome to The New Commons. We’re so glad you’re here.