ACE Writing Specialists

Kalamu ya Salaam
ACE Academy Head of Writing Specialists

Kalamu ya Salaam ("Pen of Peace") is head of the Writing Specialists for ACE Academy. “Born Vallery Ferdinand III on March 24, 1947 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Salaam is a professional editor/writer, filmmaker, producer and arts administrator. He is the founder and director of NOMMO Literary Society, a New Orleans-based Black writers workshop. Salaam is also the founder and moderator of e-Drum, an informational listserv for Black writers and diverse supporters of literature worldwide.

He is the author of What Is Life?-The Reclamation Of The Black Blues Self (1994, Third World Press). An excerpt from What Is Life? was used on the national ACT examinations as part of the reading comprehension test. Kalamu ya Salaam has served as a panelist for arts awards and grants programs at the local, state, regional and national level, including four years on the NEA music panel and one year on the NEA literature panel.

Kalamu ya Salaam is the author of seven books of poetry: The Blues Merchant (1969), Hofu Ni Kwenu/My Fear Is For You (1973), Pamoja Tutashinda/Together We Will Win (1974), Ibura (1976), Revolutionary Love (1978), Iron Flowers (1979), and A Nation Of Poets (1989). He has also written two books of essays: Our Women Keep Our Skies From Falling: Six Essays In Support Of The Struggle To Smash Sexist And Develop Women (1980) and Our Music Is No Accident (1987), an essay accompanied by 20 duotone photographs. Continue reading...

Carolyn Matthews, MFA and M.Ed.

Ms. Carolyn Matthews is working with ACE Academy as a Writing Specialist because she believes with the assessment released by the National Academic Press that “[a]ll adolescents, in all economic and social circumstances, need generous amounts of help, instruction, discipline, support, and caring as they make their way from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.” Participating in the ACE Academy is her way of contributing help, instruction, and support. Young people from impoverished or other challenging circumstances may not ever envision themselves as college students. Her goal is to enlarge their vision of themselves.

The ACE Academy, she believes, allows instructors and staff to magnify the potential and enrich the lives of every young scholar. Not only is this venture an investment in the destiny of these young scholars, it is an investment in the next generation.

Ms. Matthews received her B.A. from Memphis State University in 1973, her M.Ed. from Freed-Hardeman University in 1999, and her MFA from the University of Southern Maine in 2005. Her creative thesis, “Black Streak of Heaven,” is a poetry manuscript. In 2005, Carolyn was named a Cave Canem Fellow.

Regina A. Lowery, M.S.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Regina Lowery, a Ph.D. student at the University of Memphis in Educational Research is “willing to work with ACE students because [she] was in a similar position when [she] was in high school. The importance of having access to opportunities that expose students to learning experiences outside of their regular community,” she believes, is critical to the successful achievement of their goals. Ms. Lowery sees ACE Academy as “a community of learners eager to impact their school, the nation and the world.”

J. Nicole Greer

J. Nicole Greer is in the process of completing her B.A. in English (African-American literature). Simultaneously, she is finishing minors in Women’s Studies and Sociology. Her current research project is entitled, “Singing with a Sword in My Hand: A Tsunamic Collective Confronts Feminism’s Waves of Political and Ideological Exclusivity,” which she intends to submit to the National Women’s Studies Association’s Women of Color Caucus for publication. Ms. Greer plans to pursue an advanced degree broadening the scope of her current coursework in literature, cultural studies and the social sciences. She is committed passionately to working with youth, women, and racial and ethnic minorities, and envisions a future profession where her loyalties will intersect effortlessly and her dreams for fundamental change, directly affecting those served, will be realized.

Recently, J. Nicole was awarded the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for contributing over 450 hours of service to the Breakthrough Collaborative, a national non-profit that improves the educational trajectory of underserved, academically motivated, and ethnically diverse middle-school students attending low-income schools. Ms. Greer is drawn to participate in ACE Academy because she is aware of the grim statistics surrounding those students whose educational aspirations often go unacknowledged. “I am hopeful that I will inspire transformative change throughout my lifetime and within the ACE Academy one life at a time,” explains J. Nicole. “I hold a firm belief that the ACE Academy will propel the next generation of leaders, advocates, activists, and social reformers to not only fulfill but also exceed their individual objectives and consciously create collective global change—fueled by the idea that knowledge equals power. The Academy lays the framework for this achievement, this confidence, this excellence.”

Amber D. Floyd

Amber Floyd is double majoring in English and * at the University of Memphis. Ms. Floyd is the recipient of several distinguished scholarships, including the Chandra F. Pleasant Scholarship. After graduation, she plans to go to law school. Amber is most interested in civil rights and international law. She is passionate about analyzing power structures in America, especially along race-and-class lines, and hopes to use a law degree to help eradicate social injustices plaguing certain classes, races, and/or ethnicities. Ms. Floyd works with ACE because she wants to see the profound effect of African history, African-American literature, and written self-expression on children who normally are not exposed to such things, and she wants help children discover these things.

Carlos E. Bolton, M.F.A.

Carlos Bolton holds an M.F.A. in English from the University of Memphis. His concentration was in Creative Writing with an emphasis in poetry. “Two Faces” is the title of his Master’s thesis, which can be read in the McWherter Library. Mr. Bolton was a member of both the Phi Theta Kappa Society and the Sigma Tau Delta, an international English Honor Society. He attended Christian Brothers University, where he had an Academic Scholarship from 1999-2002. ACE Academy, Carlos believes, can be instrumental in improving the college entrance exam scores of its students by proactively preparing them to enter college. Perhaps even more importantly, he believes students can be mentored in the art of writing, which ultimately would mean that colleges could be more confident that they are getting students who have been well prepared for their college experience.

Jonathan D. Wallace

Jonathan Wallace is currently attending the University of Memphis with a major in African-American Studies and a minor in Psychology. A book of poetry is being crafted as well. Ultimately, Jay believes that he wants to teach, because the vocation chose him. He is willing to work with the ACE kids because so many others are not. “The youth need to know that they are cared for and that they are believed in,” Mr. Wallace writes. “It falls to every generation to reach back and help to pull the next generation forward.” ACE Academy, in Jay’s view, is “a safe place for students to ‘find their center,’ and a stepping stone for them to become more.”