**Intentions:**My intention in working with The Backward River is to collaborate with a team of like-minded individuals who care about environmental justice. My main goal working with the team is to help develop and maintain this website to bring awareness of available research, tools, and events to foster connections between The Backward River and partners, organizations, and policy influencers. It’s exciting to be part of a team that reaches out to local communities and organizations to make real change. One of the reasons I began working in web development was because it used both my artistic and my marketing skills. It is highly satisfying to use these skills with a team passionate about making environmental and social changes.
Bio: Alexander P. Garza is an MA student in the Program for Writers at University of Illinois – Chicago, focusing on poetry and fiction. Alex holds a BA in Sociology from Texas A&M University and a Strategic MBA in Marketing from University of Houston – Victoria. His interests include the immigrant experience, ekphrasis, mental health, and folklore. His work has appeared inStarLine, Toyon, Indianapolis Review*, and others. He was awarded first-runner up for the Latinx Health Poetry Project with theLatino Caucus for Public Health. He was awarded the 2019 Dark Poetry Scholarship Award by theHorror Writers Association. His poetry was selected and read at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston and was commissioned by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Tintero Projects for work inspired by their Latin American Exhibit: Play and Grief. In addition to being a former Contributing Editor for Broadway World, Alex has worked on and offstage at the Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Main Street Theater, and Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company in Houston, TX. Visit his website atalexanderpgarza.com.
