THE STORY OF THE WRITERS' HOUSE 

Our Team

Andrea Wilson, MNTCW | Founder & Executive Director

Andrea Wilson is the founder and Executive Director of the Iowa Writers' House, a non-for-profit at the intersection of writing and public health. She is the founder of the Bicultural Iowa Writers' Fellowship, and the editor and publisher of We the Interwoven, the first series of essays by immigrants, first- and second- generation Americans in Iowa. As a trained narrative therapy practitioner, she develops programs and workshops which use story as a method to support mental health, psychological healing and empowerment. She is passionate about developing systems, training, and skills development programs that bring narrative therapy tools and practices to the public. Andrea has a BFA from Iowa State University and a Master’s in Narrative Therapy from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

 Alisha Jeddeloh | Associate Director

Alisha Jeddeloh is a writer, the associate director of IWH, and an editor of the We the Interwoven series of bicultural anthologies. She grew up on a farm outside Fairfield, Iowa, home to both cornfields and the golden domes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the transcendental meditation movement. The culture clash between groups led her to see difference as a catalyst for creativity and new ways of being, and that experience continues to inform her work as a writer and editor today. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with her family, where she is currently working on a short story cycle that explores community and belonging. As an editor, she also shapes and polishes prose for publishers and journals such as Oxford University Press and the Iowa Review. She can be found at www.alishajeddeloh.com or @alishajeddeloh on Instagram.

 Lauren Arzbaecher | Programming and Marketing Coordinator

Any opportunity to be creative is one Lauren Arzbaecher jumps at, extending to various visual artistic mediums and most passionately to her writing. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in English and Creative Writing along with a certificate in Digital Public Arts. She wholeheartedly believes that while geographical or social barriers may keep people of different backgrounds apart, writing and art have the ability to connect people around the world by sharing stories one might not encounter otherwise. She enjoys painting, cooking, and photography in her free time and hopes to continue spreading art’s unique power to connect people. Lauren has been published in Fools Magazine, Ink Lit Magazine, The Daily Iowan, and KRUI.fm. You can find her at laurenarzbaecher.com or @laurnie4 on Instagram.

Erin Casey | Communications & Student Relationships Manager

Erin Casey graduated from Cornell College with degrees in English and Secondary Education. While there she was published in Cornell’s literary magazine, Open Field, and later became its Art Editor. She also helped start the first creative writing club, Wordsmiths. Immediately after school, she attended the Denver Publishing Institute to study a graduate course focused on the publishing industry. Since then, she has recruited for DPI for the past 7 years. She is one of the first volunteers to work with the Iowa Writers’ House and has been an integral part of our success.  Erin recently attended the Pikes Peak Writing Convention and was asked to submit her first novel to an acquiring editor. 

Elisabeth Chretien | Managing Editor 

Elisabeth grew up all over the world as an Air Force brat, and she eventually landed in the Midwest. After earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English literature, she spent a decade working in the university press world as an acquisitions editor, where she learned that she hates meetings, loves coffee, and geeks out over the minutia of copyright law. Some of the books she acquired and edited became New York Times bestsellers and academic and trade award-winners. She is now a freelance editor, ghostwriter, and novelist, which enables her to avoid meetings, drink lots of coffee, and spend all day with her overly involved black cat.