Meet Our
Board of Directors
A team of individuals, looking to make a difference.
A team of individuals, looking to make a difference.
Founder, ceo, and president
When she is not teaching and inspiring youth and adults to be creative thinkers, team players, and lifelong learners, Suzanne Sosnowski can be found dancing, singing, reading, writing, spending time with family and friends, and spreading joy and hope, one smile at a time. She has been passionately serving youth and families as a teacher, mentor, and coach for 20 years. Suzanne is from Illinois; she moved to Arizona in 2016 to be closer to family and pursue her dreams of impacting youth on a larger scale. In August 2016, she founded Arizona Masters of Poetry, a nonprofit organization based in Phoenix that empowers youth to be confident learners and positive leaders in their communities through the rich experiences of spoken word poetry. Sosnowski is also the founding producer of the annual Hotter Than The Sun: Arizona Youth Poetry Festival. Before moving to Arizona, Suzanne taught English and Humanities classes, as well as bilingual classes in Spanish and classes for English Language Learners. She has a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and a master’s degree in education.
vice president and secretary
Guy Schingoethe is a Founding Partner and the Chief Operating Officer of Be Strong Families. Guy comes to this role with more than 19 years experience working in the family support field. As a Parent Leader, Guy is passionate about the importance of male involvement in raising their children and engaging dads in being an active part of their children’s lives and through BSF has helped spearhead the development of Dads Cafés and the Dads Parent Café in a Box resource. Guy received his BA in Theatre Arts/English/Communications from the University of Hartford and has completed additional certificate programs on Project Management through Loyola University Chicago and Financial Management through Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. In addition to his professional career with Be Strong Families, he remains an active performer in Chicago both as an actor and singer / pianist and is the lead singer of the hard rock band Faith in the Fallen. He also currently serves on the board of directors for the Arizona Masters of Poetry. Guy lives in South Suburban Chicagoland area with his wife Ericka and son Sterling.
Michelle Salcido is from Tolleson, Arizona. She teaches English and Creative Writing at La Joya Community High School. She earned an MFA in poetry from Pacific University.
treasurer
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