Core Faculty

Dan LeRoy, Director of Writing & Publishing

Dan LeRoy is an author, journalist and teacher who has been the director of the Writing and Publishing Department since 2006. His writing about music and politics has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Village Voice, Alternative Press, Esquire.com and National Review Online. He is certainly the only person in history to have contributed to publications founded by William F. Buckley, Jr. and by Gene Simmons of KISS. Meanwhile, his speculative fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, and on the No Sleep podcast.

He is the author of several books, including one about the Beastie Boys classic release Paul's Boutique, for Continuum/Bloomsbury's acclaimed 33 1/3 series. His latest title, Liberty’s Lions: The Catholic Revolutionaries Who Helped Establish America, was published by Sophia Institute Press in 2021. His next book, Dancing to a Drum Machine, will be released by Bloomsbury in 2022.

cindy west, middle school/High School Faculty

Cindy West is an artist in residence at Lincoln Park, working primarily with middle school Writing and Publishing students. A middle school ELA teacher for many years, Mrs. West has developed the Visiting Writers Series at Lincoln Park for middle school students, allowing them access to nationally-known authors. She has also appeared in numerous regional theatre productions, and uses that experience to help middle school writers prepare for public reading opportunities, including the Middle School Showcase. Mrs. West is also involved in curriculum development for Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.

deanna baringer, batcat press managing editor

Deanna Baringer was a resident artist at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center since 2007, spending most of her time developing curriculum and teaching high school courses at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. As an educator, she is particularly interested in the value of interdisciplinary thinking and takes a cross-curricular approach to her teaching practice. She is the founder and managing editor of BatCat Press, the first high school student-run small literary press in the nation, and still works with press members at Lincoln Park to develop new publishing projects. Deanna is employed by Saturday Light Brigade Radio Productions as a staff educator; runs her own paper goods company; and is a teaching artist for the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and resides in Pittsburgh, PA.

In addition to our core faculty, students regularly interact with a diverse slate of visiting writers.