Sara Knudson is a Wordslinger, writer, equestrian, and gardener living in the greater Sacramento area. As a kid, she once attempted to put together a writing group in a barn. The group met in a horse stall and sat in the hay manger to read. Unfortunately, the writing group dissolved when everyone chose to go adventuring down an abandoned railroad track, where they discovered a haunted house covered in ivy. This eventually became inspiration for a short story Sara wrote later. Sara has been writing poetry and stories since she was nine years old, and has participated in many National Novel Writing Month marathons. Her first novel attempt was a fifty-page novel that, unfortunately, disappeared when the computer crashed a few years later. Over the years, Sara attended a couple writing workshops with Nina Amir and Amy Gigi Alexander. In 2018, Sara was accepted into Sarah Lawrence College’s MFA program. She spent the next two years in New York writing and taking part in several wonderful internship and volunteer experiences. She has since finished a rough draft of a science-fiction novel, been a guest editor for Breadcrumbs magazine, and taught a novel-writing class at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College in 2021. She is very grateful to be able to write every day, hear stories from new voices, and sling words around a room.

Nyeree Boyadjian is a Lead Wordslinger at 916 Ink. She is an Armenian-American lgbtq+ writer from Queens, New York. She has a BFA in creative writing which she received from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. In June 2023 she received an MFA in poetry from The University of California, Davis. She currently lives and teaches in Sacramento.  

Reyna Atilano has dedicated most of her adult life to community work. Her leadership skills have taken her through the CCC and the City of Sacramento YPCE and finally landed her here at 916 Ink, where she gets to utilize her passion for community in a whole new way. In her off time she loves spending time with her dog Leo, cooking, spontaneous road trips with friends, and mochi donuts.

Elisa Rancaño has two loves in life: food and her dog…Oh, and her husband… And mom! Can’t forget Mom. And the rest of her family and friends. Also nature, board games, and crossword puzzles. Birdwatching, too. So, actually Elisa has many loves; too many to list here. She grew up in Modesto, went to undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, got a teaching credential at Fresno State, then landed in Sacramento where she is back in school at Sac State. Elisa also loves school. She believes literacy is power. She reads everyday and writes frequently. She is excited to share her love of the written word with Sac youth and help empower a new generation of creators

Katie Tat is a Wordslinger with 916 Ink. She started as a 916 Ink student in 2015. The Find Your Voice class encouraged her to finish high school. After that she began volunteering as a peer mentor. Growing up she was always surrounded by books and began writing her own stories on the computer starting at the age of seven. Katie is pursuing her B.A. in education at CSU Sacramento. Outside of class you can find her playing with her bunny Felix.

Lindsay Bennett is a Wordslinger with 916 Ink's Find Your Voice program. Lindsay returned to her hometown of Sacramento after a decade in Georgia, where she worked a lot, ran a lot, and birthed two babies. Lindsay loves to travel almost as much as she loves to read and write. She and her family love taking road trips up and down the “Left Coast," especially when they can bring their beloved Australian shepherd with them. 

Professionally, Lindsay is a human rights lawyer and freelance writer. In her writing life, Lindsay focuses mostly on personal essays and opinion pieces. In between lawyering and taxiing her kids to school and various sporting events, Lindsay is working towards her master's in creative writing.