We are pleased to announce, after an arduous national search, that we have hired a new Program Manager: Kathryn McGee. Kathryn will assume her role on October 2nd. We are also pleased to announce that Palm Desert Center Executive Director Agam Patel will be staying with us as a consultant for the next several months while Kathryn makes her transition into the role. Kathryn McGee is a 2015 graduate of this MFA program and previously earned a Master in Urban & Regional Planning from UCI along with a BA in Art History with a Minor in English from UC Santa Barbara. For the last several years, Kathryn has worked in two realms – first as an Independent Architectural Historian/Historic Preservation Consultant, where she’s run her own successful consulting practice, and second, of course, her burgeoning career in horror fiction. Her horror stories have appeared in Kelp Journal, Ladies of the Fright, Gamut Magazine, Horror Library Vol. 6, Halldark Holidays, and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Chromophobia anthology. She is the author of the chapbook, Mondays Are for Meat, and co-author of DTLA/37: Downtown Los Angeles in Thirty-seven Stories. She writes articles about horror books and film for The Lineup. She also hosted Skeleton Hour, the Horror Writers Association's horror literature webinar series, and is an Active member of the HWA. Kathryn also previously served as the Program Coordinator for the Office of Technology Alliances at the University of California, Irvine.

"Kathryn is just the 3rd person to hold this position in our MFA program,"  program director Tod Goldberg said. "We were so lucky to previously have Michelle Harding with us when the program was getting off the ground, then Agam, who of course eventually became the Associate Director. I’m certain Kathryn will do an excellent job. I can’t wait to see where she helps lead us."