WRITE TO EMPOWER
Healing one story at a time.
MISSION
Write to Empower believes in storytelling to transform and uplift through the healing power of words.
OUR TEAM
Azra Rahim
Azra Rahim is a Physician. Researcher. Educator. Mystic. Whirling Dervish. Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. World traveler. Writer. Cancer Survivor. Narrative Therapy Student. Kisser of all things beautiful and innocent.
Caitlin Lore
Caitlin Lore is a Midwest grown, Southeast transplant who believes in the power of story. She’s a children’s writer, poet, and creative whose writing has been supported by the Hawthornden Foundation and Boyds Mills. In her daily life, she’s a former ELA teacher turned professor. She writes essays & poetry about the interplay of faith, grief, and midlife on her Substack, The Time Given while also sharing about her writing life at Lost in Story. In her free time, she’s rarely without a book, enjoys gardening, and dabbles in several eclectic hobbies which inevitably end up in her stories. Connect with her on Instagram or her website: caitlinlore.com.
Lisa M. Bolt Simons
Former teacher and Literacy Coach, Lisa M. Bolt Simons is the author of more than 70 nonfiction and fiction children’s books, five middle grade novels, and an adult history title with more forthcoming. She’s received accolades for both her nonfiction and fiction. She’s a member of SCBWI Rocky Mountain, the AuthorsGuild, and NCTE, and a former Regional Advisor of SCBWI Minnesota. Lisa also helps writers find literary agents and publishers and runs an editorial service. You can find more information on her website: www.lisamboltsimons.com.
Marisa Catalina Casey
Marisa Catalina Casey is a member of The Writers Grotto and Macondo Writers Workshop. An alumna of Las Musas Books Mentorship, The Word Writer-Editor Mentorship, and Tin House (now McCormack Writing Center), her writing has been supported by the Hawthornden Foundation, SCBWI, We Need Diverse Books, and the Elvira Cordero Cisneros Fund, among others. A former Regional Advisor for SCBWI – San Francisco North East, Marisa has served as a Round Table Mentor, a writing juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and is the 2025 Soon Ok Scholar at the Highlights Foundation (now Boyds Mills). Learn more at: marisacatalinacasey.com.
OUR PROGRAMS
Mentorships
Write to Empower offers one-on-one mentorships with authors who have written about trauma and/or grief. Mentors offer guidance to writers who want to work on their strengths, healing, and empowerment through their storytelling.
Workshops
Write to Empower workshops engage a multitude of facilitators who provide insight, reflection, and opportunities for growth. They shine a light on struggle but also contemplation and self-discovery to begin the forging of story.
Retreats
We organize single and multi-day retreats. These opportunities weave self-care with community as we spend both individual time working on our stories and time coming together in large groups to share, connect, and heal.
VISION
WE envision a world in which trauma and grief are transformed into empowerment through storytelling.