Monica Gebell is an English instructor to grades 9 and 12 in Pittsford, New York. Her studies with the National Endowment for the Humanities include Native American fiction and the role of the Erie Canal in nineteenth-century abolition and suffrage movements. She is the founder and creative director of Roc The Mic, a production company that raises awareness and funding for non-profits in the greater Rochester area through live storytelling events.