Shaun Griffin is a poet, a writer, and a teacher. Griffin is the co-founder and former director of northwestern Nevada nonprofit, Community Chest, which has served children and families by providing resources since 1991. He is also the former founding director of the state’s homeless youth education office. After a long list of contributions to the art world ranging from poetry workshops at correctional centers to the launch of a 25 year running poetry reading series at Reno’s Sundance Books and Music in honor of National Poetry Month to authoring seven books of poetry, Griffin was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2014. Additionally, he published a memoir focused around his efforts to build community in rural Nevada titled “Anthem for a Burnished Land,” published in 2016.