Rena brings three decades of experience as an educator, editor, and writing coach. She earned her BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where she focused on Irish and Israeli literature and creative writing. She's currently on faculty at Villanova University, where she teaches Irish literature and film, Israeli and Palestinian border writing, and Jewish American literature, and she also teaches in Villanova's program at SCI Phoenix.
What makes Rena exceptional is the range of what she reads and writes, and how much of herself she brings to the work. She has published collections of biblical poetry and Jewish American plays alongside her own poetry and scholarly writing. She values honesty, compassion, and loyalty, brings patience and grace to every session, and is still awed by the way audacious writing connects people to ideas, to their own growth, and to one another. Students working through something hard to say will find someone who knows how to help them say it.
Raised in Philadelphia and in Jerusalem, Rena now lives in Narberth, PA with her rescue dog, an affectionate, silly black lab mix who takes her on long walks in every kind of weather. A former dancer and choreographer, she's now a yoga and meditation instructor and a mom to two performing artists.
Best match for: students drawn to literature, writing, and the arts, and any student wrestling with big questions of identity, culture, or belonging. A natural fit for writers who want to go deep, who care about voice and craft, and who have something layered to work out on the page. Just as strong with students who are still finding the words.