Patrick Ohslund

Experienced educator with 2.5 years in collegiate teaching and 10 years as a teaching artist and non-profit director. Specializes in culturally responsive and critical pedagogies that promote social justice. Engages underserved youth through academic and creative writing, mentorship, and research support, fostering confidence and success. Develops innovative curricula that create transformative learning experiences.

• Opened for The Wailers at Desert Rocks Music Festival for over 3,500 people.
• Performed poetry and presented TedX talk, 'Will This be on The Test'.
• Performed at internationally acclaimed Menʼs Story Project.
• Written and Performed groundbreaking multi-voice poetry bridging racial divisions in salt and pepper duet poetry troupe Jackhammer Serenade.
• Placed 5th in the nation in multivoice group poetry at the National Poetry Slam, West Palm Beach, Florida.
• Toured nationally on five occasions in over 20 states featuring at famous spoken word poetry slams such as NYCʼs Nuyorican, LAʼs Da Poetry Lounge, Denverʼs Mercury Cafe, UC Berkeleyʼs Zellerbach Hall.
• Coached Palo Alto poetry slam team to 2nd place in multi-voice poetry at the National Poetry Slam, Oakland, California.
• Released EP of spoken word poetry, vocals and electronic music, Patrick Joseph and The Temple of Echoes.
• Performed at San Francisco State's anti-men's violence poetry event Cocktails.
• Toured internationally, featuring at the Guatemala City Poetry Slam and Montrealʼs Throw Poetry Collective.

• 'Using Spoken Word Poetry to Create Culturally Relevant Curriculum' 6th Annual Adjunct Rhetoric Conference at the University of San Francisco, 2019.
• 'Creating Culturally Relevant Curriculum with Spoken Word Poetry' Annual Conference on Community Writing - Drexel University Philadelphia, 2019.
• 'Spoken Word and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy' 1st and 2nd Annual San Francisco State English Department Conference, 2018, 2019.
• 'Creating Culturally Relevant Curriculum with Spoken Word Poetry' Inventing our Futures Conference Produced by Arts EdMatters and Alameda County, 2019.
• 'Unbox the Classroom' The Curriculum Slam produced by The Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area, 2020.
• 'Will This be on the Test' TedX Humboldt Bay, 2019.

• Founded Bay Area Creative, a spoken word poetry non-profit that serves over 6,000 youth per year hailing from underserved communities.
• Mentored students in underserved communities to become teaching artists at the high schools they graduated from.
• Developed a board of directors for the non-profit Bay Area Creative who hail from and have served the same communities of students we work with.
• Organized youth poetry slams for students ages 10 to 18 through Bay Area Creativeʼs flagship program SPARC poetry.
• Facilitated spoken word poetry writing workshops for 900 students per year through Bay Area Creative's SPARC poetry.
• Led and organized summer camp spoken word residencies at first generation college applicant program: Upward Bound at UC Berkeley.
• Co-founded Bay Area Creativeʼs therapeutic arts program, Revisions, to work with systems involved youth, homeless youth, families recovering from abuse, and families interested in strengthening personal bonds.
• Facilitated therapeutic spoken word poetry writing workshops in Alameda County Juvenile Hall and at Safe and Soundʼs anti-family abuse support center: The Talk line.
• Co-founded Bay Area Creativeʼs Professional development program, Educators for Empathy to lead trainings on Equity and Culturally Responsive Curriculum.
• Led trainings on Equity at Clayton Valley Charter School, Culturally responsive curriculum at The Curriculum Slam, a district wide in-service training at Live Oak School District.
• Wrote grants and led funding drives to support arts education for underserved youth.
• Collaborated with Bay Area Creative Executive director to envision new ways to serve students.
• Co-produced youth written, filmed and edited short films featuring spoken word poetry.
• Co-organized the Berkeley Poetry Slam, the longest running poetry slam on the West Coast.

• Culturally responsive pedagogy to bridge equity gaps
• Antiracist and critical pedagogy to inspire thought, writing and action towards social justice
• ʻTranslingualʼ pedagogies that practice ʻcode-meshingʼ in student reading and writing practices
• Authentic voice via creative writing and spoken word poetry
• Utilizing creative writing brainstorming and personal experience as examples of prewriting/structuring and citing evidence in academic composition
• Engaging students within the academic community to connect with transformational creative and student based hubs
• Training students in film-making, interview skills and public speaking
• Mentoring young creative and academic writers; training student mentors and teachers from underserved backgrounds
• Fostering confidence and self efficacy through teaching performance poetry
• Assisting students in identifying a focus for academic work based on: passion, skills, feasibility with a personal life plan, societal/community need and compensation options

• Participated in Eli Review Teaching and Learning Community (TLC). Weekly webinars with John Holland to develop effective, empowering peer review practices in the classroom. January 2019-May 2019.
• Participated in CEETL 'First Year Pedagogies in Inclusive Excellence' (FY-PIE) 2-day Institute. Focus included First Year experience; Health, well-being, mindfulness; study skills and time management; identity, belonging, and inclusion; critical digital literacies; rhetorical awareness; e-portfolio development. May 30-31, 2019.
• Participated in 'Personalizing Positional Pedagogy: Integrating Transparency, Anti-oppressive Assessment, and Active Learning Practices.' CEETL Happy Hour Workshop Series, SFSU. December 4, 2019.
• Eng 718 Cohort of GTAʼs teaching Eng 114 - support in assessment and course design, 2019.