Eric Greenwell (he/him) has worked for many years with talented teams to preserve both natural and cultural spaces across the Intermountain and Pacific Northwest so communities in these regions can thrive. Community in this context means communities of people, artists, plants, and wildlife, and he carries a particular affinity for writing as a medium that makes community stronger, for its potential to convey honestly and unflinchingly diverse perspectives. Eric earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Idaho in 2014, where he first attended the Port Townsend Writers Conference as a fellow. Since then, he has worked for local and regional land conservation nonprofits, protecting lands and community values, and has returned to Port Townsend nearly every year to support the Conference and Centrum’s Writing Program. He was named the Program Manager of Writing in 2023. As the Program Manager, he works with Centrum’s dedicated staff and supports the Artistic Director to ensure the Program’s flagship conference, the Port Townsend Writers Conference, and Centrum’s writing programming continue to provide space where any writer from anywhere can nurture their creativity in an environment that is supportive, challenging, and uplifting – building a world of greater inclusion through the arts, and he believes his work in land conservation dovetails with his work in the arts, where the foundation of healthy communities begins with the land, plants and wildlife that support them biologically and artistically.