Board of Directors
Ramona Cearley
(Chair)
Ramona has been a part of the Austin literary
community for more than ten years. On a
volunteer basis, she has served as director of
Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, a literary
journal with national distribution based in
Austin. As photographer and editor, she has
contributed to numerous humanities-related
publications and exhibits. Currently, she is
project coordinator for a cultural exchange
program between Iceland and Texas in
collaboration with writers, artists, and
musicians, among others. She hold a master’s
degree in photojournalism from the University of
Texas at Austin’s College of Communication.
Farid Mohammadi (President, Executive
Director)
Farid came to the United States from Iran as a
student in 1972, and received his BA in
Art/Architecture from the University of
Arkansas. He has lived in Austin since 1981, and
is now an American citizen. From 1989 to 2002 he
drove a taxi in the city of Austin and
interviewed roughly 6000 passengers about their
knowledge of poetry, an informal, grass-roots
survey that helped to shape the mission and
goals of Texas Nafas. Farid founded Texas Nafas
in 1997, and has become well-known in Austin for
his efforts to promote poetry and give this
‘language of the heart’ a more honored role in
American culture. In 2002 he retired and now
devotes all of his time to Texas Nafas as
Executive Director and Producer.
R. Steven Harnsberger
(Secretary)
Steve has been a resident of Austin since 1985.
He holds a B.A. degree from the University of
Nebraska in philosophy and psychology, and M.A.
degree from the University of Rochester in
philosophy. He works as a Customer Service
Representative for the Internal Revenue Service.
Supporters
City of Austin Arts
Commission, Humanities Texas, Texas Commission
for the Arts
Poetry
in the Arts, Inc., Creative and promotional
support, and Web site design and maintenance.
