Who We Are
Art Director
Chloe Mohan
Chloe Mohan graduated from American University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Justice and Law. She was inspired by her experience in Professor Johnson's course, "The Prison Community and Deprivation of Liberty." Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Science in Justice, Law, and Criminology, with the intention of applying to law school to become a human rights lawyer.
Chief Operating Officer
Moriah Sharpe
Moriah is a doctoral student in Justice, Law, and Criminology at American University. She is interested in issues of intersectional inequality and human dignity in the criminal justice system.
Chief Communications & Technology officer
Jackson Gold
Jackson Gold is a recent graduate and current Masters of Science student in Justice and Law at American University. Originally from Philadelphia, PA. Jackson is extremely passionate about justice reform, particularly in the areas of substance abuse, healthcare, and juvenile justice.
PUBLISHER
Robert Johnson
Johnson is a professor of Justice, Law, and Society at American University and a widely published author of fiction and nonfiction dealing with crime and punishment. His short story, "The Practice of Killing," won the Wild Violet Fiction Contest in 2003. Several of his works have been adapted for the stage. His best known work of social science, Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process, won the Outstanding Book Award of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Book Editor
Kat Bodrie
Kat Bodrie is a professional writer and editor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her editorial credits include Inside: Voices from Death Row, Interface: Poems, Bone Orchard: Reflections on Life under Sentence of Death, and Concussion Discussions: Vol. 2. Her poetry has appeared in North Meridian Review, Poetry South, West Texas Literary Review, Rat’s Ass Review, and elsewhere. She is currently president of Winston-Salem Writers and host city coordinator for Poetry in Plain Sight. A recovering community college instructor, Kat has her Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in English Literature. She often collaborates with poet George T. Wilkerson, who lives on Death Row in North Carolina. Read their writing at katbodrie.com.
Tacenda Magazine
Chief Editorial Officer
Sophia Nakos
Sophia Nakos is a junior at American University majoring in Justice, Law, and Criminology. She is deeply committed to criminal justice reform, with a particular focus on research as a tool for understanding and addressing systemic inequities. Her academic and professional interests center on examining the structural conditions that contribute to mass incarceration, inequitable prison conditions, and unequal access to legal protections within the U.S. criminal justice system. Beyond advocacy for those already impacted by incarceration, she is especially motivated by preventative approaches to justice—supporting community-based resources, social services, and policy solutions that address the root causes of crime and uplift individuals and communities before harm occurs.
Consulting Editor
Katie Owens-Murphy
Katie Owens-Murphy is Associate Professor of English and Graduate Coordinator of the MA English program at the University of North Alabama. She also serves as PI for the Restorative Justice Lab and as the state coordinator for the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Her work with people in prison has appeared in Humanities, Critical Criminology, Mississippi Quarterly, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Her most recent book, Ghosts Over the Boiler: Voices from Alabama’s Death Row, was published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2023.
editor-in-chief
Bethany Howard
Bethany holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of North Alabama, where she was also the 2023-2024 Adams-Nordin Research Assistant. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Ole Miss in Secondary Education. Bethany has worked with Tacenda since 2023, and she is a full-time editor at a non-profit organization.
editor
Sara Thesing
Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Dramatic Arts from Centre College, and she earned a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of North Alabama. In the summer of 2025, she took a class on capital punishment at UNA and began working with Tacenda Magazine. She currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and teaches high school English.
managing editor
Emily Uhlman
Emily holds an MA in English literature from the University of North Alabama, where she currently serves as an adjunct instructor teaching literature and writing. She is excited to be part of the Tacenda team and to continue learning from the diverse experiences surrounding incarceration.
editorial intern
Hal Driskell
Hal is currently an undergraduate at the University of North Alabama. He is pursuing a degree in communication with a focus in journalism and digital media production. He loves writing and feature-style storytelling. Hal is very passionate about the way that telling people’s stories can impact social change.
managing editor
Raegan Babb Harris
Raegan holds an MA in English Literature and a BS in English Education from the University of North Alabama. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Samford University, teaching in the Core Writing program. Her interests include compositional pedagogy, literary theory, and critical plant studies. She joined Tacenda Magazine in July 2023 as an editorial intern and currently serves as Managing Editor.