Our Story

Our Beginnings

The Southern California Writing Centers Association has been meeting as an informal body since 2003, a result of a meeting of two writing center directors, Shareen Grogan and Wendy Menefee-Libey at the 2003 International Writing Centers Association Summer Institute. The organization was formally created in 2005, and drafted Articles of Association in 2011. The Association provides a venue for collaboration and cooperation between the various Writing Centers of the Southern California region. The purpose of the Association is to further the theoretical, pedagogical, and political interests of writing center professionals and to encourage dialogue about writing centers and writing tutoring from all levels of public and private education as stated in our Constitution and Bylaws. SoCalWCA is an affiliate organization of the International Writing Centers Association.

Members of the Association meet once or twice per semester, at various colleges and universities around the region. Once per year, the Association hosts a Tutor Conference, encouraging discussion between our diverse tutorial cohorts. The Spring 2018 tutor conference was the largest ever, and included more than 300 participants!

In 2012, the Association hosted the biannual International Writing Centers Association meeting in San Diego.

Debbie Goss, Soka University of America

Letter from our current President

Serving as President of the Southern California Writing Centers Association (SoCalWCA), an affiliate of the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA), is a great honor and joy. I am committed to serving our diverse membership by promoting the scholarship and professional development of writing center practitioners across southern California, Utah, and Nevada in the following ways:

Specifically, working with the Board, we will discuss implementing a new WCP track at our annual conference, exploring the potential of periodic smaller gatherings on a localized level, and instituting a monthly online professional development discussion group.


Working with our brilliant SoCalWCA Board and the many dedicated members throughout our region is a privilege. I owe immense gratitude to Kim Arbolante, our Past President, for her leadership in guiding us back to an in-person Tutor Conference last March in Bakersfield and her mentorship over the past two years. When I accepted the Vice Presidency of SoCalWCA two years ago, my main motivation was to connect with other writing center people. I have discovered that the friendships we build in SoCalWCA form a rich source of nourishment, keeping us healthy and thriving in our daily writing center lives. This nourishment is essential for sustaining us in our demanding work. These connections have allowed me to break out of my silo and learn from fellow writing center colleagues.


Our talented membership includes renowned scholars and emerging voices in the writing center field. They are a testament to our dynamic and ever-evolving field. As we navigate our multivariate trajectories, we find commonality in our pursuit of excellence and our ability to transform the world through writing.


I look forward to growing together as the SoCalWCA community of writing center practitioners. Together, let’s make the world a better place, one writing center at a time.


Sincerely yours,


Debbie Goss


President, Southern California Writing Centers Association