Lytton Smith | Faculty Advisor
Lytton Smith started a literary journal with friends during his undergraduate degree at University College London, Fifty Metres Fully Clothed – named for the university’s unenforced regulation that a degree could only be earned if students could demonstrate the ability to swim that distance while clothed. During his M.F.A., he was Editor-in-Chief of Columbia: A Journal of Literature & Arts for Issues 40 and 41. He has helped advise numerous literary journals in the U.K. and the U.S. during his teaching career and is delighted to be part of the Gandy Dancer team.
Allison Brown | Production Advisor
Allison Brown, Production Advisor to Gandy Dancer, is the Digital Publishing Services Manager at Milne Library. She was on the staff for her college literary magazine, so she loves helping out with Gandy Dancer. Now she works on all types of open access publications and free online textbooks.
Casey Dapshi | Managing Editor
Casey Dapshi is a senior English and Creative Writing major. On campus she is also the co-president of Generation Action at Geneseo and can be found reading poetry in her hammock and making tea for all her friends. Her work has been published in Northern Spy: A Journal of Literature and the Arts. She hopes to pursue her love for writing post undergrad and work with children’s literature. Her favorite picture book is Caps for Sale.
Daisy Sheldon | Managing Editor
Daisy Sheldon is a senior at SUNY Geneseo where she studies English and Creative Writing and minors in Marketing. During her first year, she was recognized by the English Department with the Mary Thomas Award in Poetry for her poem Baby doll, Babydoll, babydoll. Daisy works for the Department of Student Engagement as the Senior Manager and at the campus Barnes & Noble Bookstore. In the future she hopes to work in the publishing industry.
Ella Singer | Production Editor
Ella Singer is a senior English and Creative Writing major with a Museum Studies minor from Saratoga Springs, NY. She is the president of Emmelodics All-Gender Acapella and co-founder of The Globe at Geneseo, a Shakespeare club. She has been previously published in issue 14.2 of Gandy Dancer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, watching La La Land, and making mix CDs.
Gianna Lucchi | CNF Editor
Gianna Lucchi is a senior English major with a Philosophy minor and Bioethics micro-credential at SUNY Geneseo. She is from Long Island, NY, and in her free time she likes to read and write. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school in New York City.
Amanda Lozy-Lester | Fiction Editor
Amanda is a junior English Literature and History double major with a minor in French. She loves Fleetwood Mac, thrifting skirts, and collecting maps and newspapers to hang on her crowded walls. She is the copy editor of the student newspaper (The Lamron) and is a member of Emmelodics All-Gender Acapella. She works as an RA, Safe Zone Trainer, and Writing Consultant on campus. Amanda is so excited to get involved with Gandy Dancer—another way to explore her passion for reading and writing.
Kate Clark | Poetry Editor
Kate Clark is a second year English Adolescent Education student at SUNY Geneseo. She loves all things writing and art, and can’t wait to be a teacher one day. When Kate’s not in class, she’s probably working in the School of Education or doing some sort of craft.
Abigail Veatch | CNF Reader
Abby Veatch is a sophomore English and Creative Writing major. She’s from Hamburg, NY and outside of reading and sometimes writing, she loves being annoying with her sisters and rewatching sitcoms.
Abigail Wheeler | Poetry Reader
Abigail Wheeler is a junior Psychology major from the Finger Lakes region. She loves animals, crocheting, and Formula 1. She wants to be a forensic psychologist but has a passion for English and creative writing.
Allison Hagen | Fiction Reader
Allison Hagen is a Childhood Education major at SUNY Geneseo, with a concentration in English and Creative Writing. She enjoys writing, performing, and volunteering in her spare time, and hopes to one day become a great teacher.
Frankie Khan | CNF Reader
Frankie Khan was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC, and is currently a sophomore in the English and Creative Writing program at SUNY Geneseo. She has previously had work published in the PEN America student magazine, The Moody New Yorker. Additionally, she is proud to announce that she is published in Issue 14.2 of Gandy Dancer.
Gabriel Romano | Poetry Reader
Gabriel Romano is a writer and historical fencer based out of Rochester, New York. He has an A.A. from MCC, and is currently studying creative writing at Suny Geneseo. He predominantly writes plays and short fiction, both with a bend towards science fiction and fantasy, his two life long loves. He has won the Sixth Act competition in 2025 and 2026. His poem “The Unique Pain of Writing from Memory” appeared in that 2025 edition of Cabbages and Kings followed by his flash story “How You will Soar” the year after.
Giavanna Consolie | CNF Reader
Giavanna Consolie is a senior Teaching Students with Disabilities major at SUNY Geneseo. She is from Romulus, New York. She is a member of the Geneseo Club Softball Team. In her free time she likes to go fishing and spend time with friends and family. She hopes to one day become an elementary or special education teacher.
Gillian McDonnell | Fiction Reader
Gillian McDonnell is a senior majoring in English Literature and Philosophy from Buffalo, NY. She has a lifelong passion for literature and is excited to review submissions for the magazine. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career where she can continue her love of reading and writing.
Jaidyn Vorpahl | Fiction Reader
Jaidyn Vorpahl is a SUNY Geneseo sophomore from Buffalo, New York. She majors in English and Creative Writing. She is currently the Arts and Entertainment Editor for SUNY Geneseo’s Newspaper, the Lamron. Outside of her academics, Jaidyn enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and watching movies.
Katie Carroll | Poetry Reader
Katie Carroll is a second year English and Creative Writing Major at SUNY Geneseo with a love for poetry and visual art. She spends her time journaling, painting, baking sourdough bread, waiting to find out what the One Piece is, adding to her stuffed animal octopus collection, and convincing others that the Beatles are not, in fact, overrated. In the future she hopes to create change through creativity and to show others that they are not defined by their weaknesses.
Lucia Soliman | Poetry Reader
Lucia Soliman is a sophomore at SUNY Geneseo majoring in English and Creative Writing. During her free time she is a member of Hips ‘n Harmony Acapella, loves to thrift, crochet, and of course, write!
Shannon Murphy | Fiction Reader
Shannon Murphy is a junior English Literature major with a minor in Anthropology. They serve as the web editor of The Lamron and enjoy writing articles that get people to care about what is going on in the world, even if that means dipping into controversy. Shannon loves to read and write poetry, bake, and smile. In the future, they hope to work as an editor for anthropological texts.
Shelagh Neeley | Fiction Reader
Shelagh Neeley is a junior English major at SUNY Geneseo with the dream is to become a school or public librarian. If she isn’t working on schoolwork, you can find her spending time with her 2 cats, Oreo & Rummer, spending time with her long-distance boyfriend, or picking up one too many hobbies, sometimes multi-tasking between them all at once. Shelagh is also an avid player of video games on her PC, and is trying to explore that creative side of herself again. She hopes Gandy Dancer can help her with that!
Sophia Kitchens | CNF Reader
Sophia Kitchens is an English Adolescent Education major at SUNY Geneseo with a deep love of literature and a not-so-secret goal of writing the next great American novel. She serves as Co-News Editor for The Lamron and works as an EMT with Geneseo’s First Response team, balancing deadlines both on the page and in the field. When she’s not reporting the news or dreaming up her own stories, Sophia can usually be found with a book and highlighter in hand. She’s always chasing the next great read—or writing one herself with help of lethal amounts of caffeine.
Sophia-Elise Jenks | Fiction Reader
Sophia Elise Jenks is a junior English and Creative Writing major with hopes to help shape whatever stories come into her hands into the best they can be. She is an aficionado of the creepy, the fantastical, and the blatantly queer in all aspects of life, leading her to pride parades and ghost tours alike, but she believes that the written word is the perfect place to allow the weird to shine. In her free time, she watches YouTube video essays and collects tea sets.
Tori Zavatkay | Poetry Reader
Tori Zavatkay is a senior Psychology major with an English minor at SUNY Geneseo. She enjoys brewing coffee, scribbling subpar poetry, and snuggling her enormous orange cat! When she’s not busy hanging out with friends or doing schoolwork, she is working vigorously in Geneseo’s Pathways Peer Advocacy Program with her passion of providing guidance to others. She is excited to spend her senior year working on Gandy Dancer and pursue a masters in Social Work when she graduates.
