About

Charlie Jensen
Publisher and Director of the Writers’ Program

Charles Jensen is the program director of The Writers’ Program. He’s the author of a forthcoming memoir, Splice of Life: A Memoir in 13 Film Genres; three poetry collections, most recently Instructions between Takeoff and Landing; and seven chapbooks. His work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Florida Review, New England Review, Passages North, and Prairie Schooner. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs designated him a 2019-2020 Cultural Trailblazer.

Jeanne De Vita
Managing Editor

Jeanne De Vita has worked in publishing for more than a decade in acquisitions, content editing, and copyediting. As a developmental editor, she has worked with NYT, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers as well as aspiring writers just beginning their author journey. A former staff writer for a serial fiction app, Jeanne’s bestselling paranormal dystopian series Bug was an Amazon Editor’s Pick upon its release on Kindle Vella and she has ghostwritten several bestselling novels. She has been featured on podcasts and interviewed on topics ranging from romance novel cover art to writing craft and was the guest book coach on the Dale L. Roberts YouTube reality show Book Rescue. Jeanne holds an MFA in Creative Writing-Fiction from the University of Notre Dame and teaches writing and editing at UCLA Extension.

Aleesha Nash
Managing Editor/Art Editor

Aleesha Nash is a New York city-based visual artist who tells stories that help shift the inaccuracies around African Americans' cultural identity. Aleesha’s recent theater projects include Lipstick (Cherry Lane Theatre), Park Bench (Primary Stages), The Raven (The Wild Project), Lilies (The Arctic Group). Yellow Banter (The Flea Theater), We Dem Boyz (Goddard College) Black Hole Dating App (Kraine Theatre), and Yours Truly, Vincent. (Emerging Artist Festival).

Aleesha is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director's’ Lab and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership program. She holds an MA from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and an MFA in dramatic writing from Goddard College in Vermont, where she received their Engaged Artist Award.

Stephanie Fung
Fiction Editor

Stephanie Fung is an editor based in Santa Clara, California, bringing three years of diverse experience across publishing, technology, and public service. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Planning from the University of Waterloo and a Certificate in Editing and Publishing from UCLA Extension. When she isn’t reading and writing, she loves playing the harp and cuddling her two cats, Kitkat and Jingles.

Cheli Vance
Fiction Editor

Cheli Vance is a freelance editor with a passion for helping writers achieve their best work. She specializes in line and copyediting, making sure i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. She holds a BA in French from Louisiana College, an MA in English from Mississippi College, and is pursuing a Certificate in Editing and Publishing from UCLA Extension. Other adventures include over a decade of teaching experience, a plenitude of event planning, and a stint as a barista in her aunt’s drive-thru coffee shop.

Nikkita Mitchell
Art Editor

Nikkita (Nike) is a Multimedia Artist based in Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese, she finalized dual certifications in Design Communication Arts and Entertainment Studies at UCLA Extension, which placed her on a path toward Motion Graphics, Visual Effects, AI art, and Immersive Media. She is currently completing her master's in Localization Project Management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Ying Le
Nonfiction Editor

Ying Le (she/her) is thrilled to be the Nonfiction Editor of Southland Alibi. She is a Chinese-American immigrant writer and artist, born in Hong Kong, and raised in Sacramento, CA. Ying recently completed the UCLA Extension Creative Writing Certificate Program and was nominated for the Allegra Johnson Writing Prize in 2025 and the James Kirkwood Prize in Creative Writing in 2022 and 2023. Her writing explores the consequences and successes of a rebellion against traditional/cultural gender roles. She also writes about how to navigate the intergenerational link between trauma and healing.

Before the pandemic, Ying received a BA in Communication from USC and was an award-winning theater producer in Los Angeles and New York City. Some of her favorite producing credits included Soft Power by David Henry Hwang at The Public Theater (2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Mojada by Luis Alfaro at The Public Theater, and the world-premiere of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe at The Playwrights Realm (2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist).

Galen Cline
Nonfiction Editor

Galen is an editor based in Portland, Oregon. They hold a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics from Portland State University and a Certificate in Editing and Publishing from UCLA Extension. They have burning passion for spreadsheets and storytelling in equal measure. In their free time, they love to play tabletop games, hike, and paint.

Amanda Penn
Reviews Editor

Amanda Penn is an editor based in Monterey, California. As the managing editor at Shortform, she edited over 250 book summaries and educational guides and shepherded hundreds more through the publication process. She’s written regularly for Publishers Weekly and IndieReader, among other publications, and she’s never happier than when she’s thinking about, writing about, or talking about books. Amanda holds a BA in English from UCLA and an MS in education from the University of Pennsylvania.