Laura McDermott, local writer, professor and founder of Orange Island Arts Foundation, has been selected as Girls’ Club 2014/2015 writer-in-residence. McDermott will work collaboratively with Girls’ Club to present various public programs and contribute writings in conjunction with the exhibition The Moment. The Backdrop. The Persona., curated by Michelle Weinberg and Sarah Michelle Rupert.

Laura McDermott Matheric, a true native of South Florida, was born and raised in Broward County, Florida. She studied creative writing at Florida State University and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from Florida International University. Laura is a tenured assistant professor of English at Broward College and recipient of the 2014 Wells Fargo Endowed Teaching Chair. Because of her dedication to higher education and writing, Laura received recognition as a 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication Professional Equity Project Grant Recipient and was awarded the 2012 Paragon Award by the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

As a member of the Miami Poetry Collective, her poetry is regularly featured in its Cent Journal Series: A Modern Anthology of Miami Poets, and her poems can also be found in various publications such as Screw Iowa!; the Virginia Key website; The Selected Collective: Volume VIII of Tigertail, a South Florida Poetry annual; and Poets&Artists. She also won honorable mention in the 2013 Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual poetry contest. Laura has developed several literary projects within her local community and served as the festival coordinator of a South Florida poetry festival for more than nine years. In 2014, she founded and is the Executive Director of Orange Island Arts Foundation, a literary arts organization that seeks to inspire individuals in South Florida and beyond to embrace the written word.