Spring Retreat Instructors
Stephanie Kendrick
Steph Kendrick was the 2023-2025 Athens Poet Laureate. She hosts the monthly open mic “Words on Wednesday”, is the editor of Periodical Poetry, and the editor of Native Fruit: Poetry and Fine Art Inspired by the Pawpaw. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she has authored 3 chapbooks since 2020. In her day job, she is the Director of the Service and Support Administration at the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. In her spare time, she serves on a few non-profit boards including Helping Hands of SEO, and Friends of Athens CASA/GAL, and serves on the Albany Planning Commission and BZA. She loves her community, and is always looking for ways to serve it.
Tadgh Bentley
Tadgh Bentley is an author, illustrator, and artist currently living in South-East Ohio. Originally from the UK, Tadgh is a self-taught artist whose publishing career began in 2015 with the release of his first picture book, Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups. He currently has ten books for children published with HarperCollins, Scholastic, and Penguin, and has another- Incredibly Fast and Not at All Fun- coming in June 2026. Tadgh is a former middle and elementary school teacher and retains a passion for education. In recent years he has been working with traditional paint in the form of landscape painting, finding inspiration in the woods around his home.
Jesse Henry
Jesse Henry loves writing songs and music. He started his music career in 2004 as a founding member and frontman of the Spikedrivers. Jesse continues to evolve and experiment with sound, lyrics and soul. Over the years he has recorded eleven original albums, produced twelve albums for artists, started a Non Profit Arts Education program in Columbus and Newark Ohio, and continues to study Spanish and tennis.
Lawrence R Greene
Lawrence R Greene is the founder of Ugata: drum and dance. It was started as a way to connect Southern Ohio with Pan African culture. Ugata is the study of a set of rhythms from the African diaspora. Lawrence provides programs, classes and performances mostly in southern Ohio and West Virginia. He was a co-founder of Rising Appalachian Warriors, youth education camp. He was also lead naturalist at Highlands Nature Sanctuary and The Wilds.
Molly Jo Stanley
Molly Jo Stanley (they/she/we) is deeply enchanted by our miraculous existence. For over half of their lifetime, they have been immersed in the studies of regenerative stewardship practices - exploring how becoming more attuned to the world, communities, and bodies we inhabit can enrich our lives in limitless ways. In decades of wandering, they have collected their share of diplomas, certificates and degrees in Natural and Historical Interpretation, Yoga teacher training, Permaculture Design, Herbalism, Wilderness guiding, and a Masters of Education in Mindfulness and Sustainability. They’ve explored a gamut of livelihoods including wilderness trip leader, herbalist, yoga practitioner, farmer, sustainability director, traveling musician, ecstatic dance organizer, and environmental advocate. Ultimately, their work is rooted in stories – in listening to and sharing them. It is through the stories we learn, believe, and tell that we shape our world.
Megan Bee
Megan Bee is an award-winning singer-songwriter based in the rolling hills of Athens, Ohio. Her lyrics, woven with imagery and metaphor from nature, reflect her experiences as a former environmental educator. Her sound is influenced by the collision of modern songwriting and Appalachian folk. In October 2025, she released her fifth album, Fiction.
In 2021, she founded Words In The Hills LLC, a writing retreat in Southeast Ohio that welcomes creative writers of all genres to gather in nature to take workshops, connect with other writers, and be inspired by the natural beauty of the region.