Arts commission approves three outside jurors for Green Bay poet laureate selection

The Green Bay Arts Commission voted to select three outside jurors to review submissions for the city poet laureate program, approving Brenda Cardenas, Nikisha Roberts Washington and Amy Mazariello.

Commission members added the juror appointments to the agenda and discussed the candidates' qualifications. Meeting materials describe Brenda Cardenas as the current Wisconsin poet laureate and note that she is developing a program that pairs visual art with poetry across Wisconsin. Nikisha Roberts Washington is identified in materials as the owner and creative director of Genre Urban Arts and as a poet and educator in Milwaukee. Amy Mazariello is listed as the owner of the Lion's Mouth Post Store in Green Bay. The commission said it sought outside jurors to reduce potential bias among local applicants and to bring outside expertise to the review process.

A motion to approve the three jurors passed on a voice vote; meeting remarks indicate unanimous assent but no roll-call tally was entered in the record. The commission discussed backup jurors and scheduling: November 19 was mentioned as a possible meeting date in case substitutions or additional review are required. A member noted that David Ahmed will be consulted for a recommendation prior to the commission making a final appointment to the poet laureate post. No formal timeline for announcing the poet laureate was specified in the meeting record.

The commission did not record individual yea or nay votes in the minutes. Materials provided with the agenda included short biographies of the three recommended jurors.