Director of Community Outreach

Marlee earned a bachelor’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers University with honors. During her undergraduate years, she became involved in campus activism to address sexual assault, LGBTQIA Rights, as well as global human rights. These years informed much of the trajectory of her life. After graduating, Marlee has bartended and lived in Asbury Park for a decade. In 2016, Marlee went to graduate school at Rutgers to persue her MSW in clinical social work. During that time she also pursued a certificate in Violence Against Women and Children which led to her work with survivors of Domestic Violence. In her work with survivors she has worked with peoples from age 18-70 all of which have experienced some form of abuse by an intimate partner. Her work included individual and group counseling as well as working at the Safe House. Since then, Marlee has taken a job working for the State with children and families in Monmouth County. This transition has allowed her to understand fully the implications of trauma on family units as well as children’s development. Working within the capacities she does, Marlee finds reading to be the ultimate form of self care for herself (although she tends to read really sad books). It is through reading and the conversations those books have ignited, that she is the person she is today. She hopes that RAAR can offer that solace and empowerment to others through books.

Chief Financial Officer

Michael began his career at a Fortune 100 investment firm after earning a degree in Finance with honors. He quickly became disillusioned by the rampant economic inequality he witnessed each day. He left after spending time in Asbury Park, & witnessing the community that was growing there. Since then, he has worked in local cafes, at one point owning two shops in Asbury Park, where he finds joy in the simple act of sharing a cup of coffee, connecting with his peers, & making a small difference in the lives of everyday people. He sees the cafe as a conduit through which anyone can engage in community action, bumping into local artists, town council people, or even the founders of Reading As A Right. Michael is an avid reader, carrying a book or two in his tote while listening to an audiobook walking his dog through town; he believes that books have the power to improve people's lives, through escape or education, & hopes to share that power in Reading As A Right.

Creative Director

For Karissa books mean escape, and she always has at least one in her bag - just in case. Having always loved reading, and had an interest in the darker parts of history from a young age, Karissa earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with honors, where she focused on media, education, ethics, and her truest love, prehistoric archaeology. After writing her final paper - on the quality of the average undergraduate degree, the curricular changes necessary to bring her university (and others) up to new standard, and how these changes could more adequately prepare students for continuing education or employment in the field - she chose to leave academia, completely disheartened. She worked for local cafes and restaurants and did freelance graphic design while apprenticing to tattoo. She spent five years as Assistant Creative Director of triCityNews, a Monmouth County focused arts and culture weekly, and ten years as a tattoo artist, the last four at Ninth Wave Tattoo in downtown Asbury Park. Karissa hopes that through RAAR she can spread the transitive quality reading can have to others who may feel the need to side step their own reality from time to time, and slip into someone else’s story for a little while.

Marketing Director

Leann is a freelance writer, who’s work has been published in The Purchase Beat biannual, triCityNews - a Monmouth County focused arts and culture weekly, and was Director of Subscriptions for The Philadelphia Secret Admirer monthly. She earned a bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in child psychology, from The State University of New York at Purchase College, where she took an interest in political demonstration and redistribution of wealth as a means of direct action. She previously worked with local small businesses in Monmouth County to promote community-centered events and farmers markets, and runs a small charity, Asbury Park Community Beach Badge Fund, which provides free beach badges to families living below the poverty line in Asbury Park. She hopes to continue to make a positive impact through small acts of kindness, and organizing within the community to provide direct mutual aid to those in need.