Meet Our Staff

Crystal Bevers holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Pacific University and a B.A. in English from Washington State University, where she focused on Literature and Cultural Studies. She also earned a certificate in Social and Environmental Justice from WSU as well as a certificate in North Atlantic Mythological Studies from The Hedge School in Ireland.  

Crystal’s writing interests pivot around cultural identity and place-based memoir—specifically, the American West—and you can find her creative work in High Desert Journal, where her essay “Bone” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Exponent II, Silk Road Review, Spark: A Creative Anthology, Soul Paws, Ginosko Literary Journal, and more. In 2016, she presented at TEDx Yakima on the value of a liberal arts education, and you can find her academic research advocating for first-year, first-generation college students in peerReview. 

After a lifetime of writing and twenty years of teaching in various capacities, Crystal joined Heritage University as full-time faculty in 2013, where she has taught English Composition, University 101, World Literature, Environmental Literature, and Poetry. She is passionate about the role of language in shaping our discourse, our values, and our private and public actions. As a first-generation college student herself, she has a special interest in supporting students who are the first in their families to seek an undergraduate or graduate degree. She believes strongly in the power of education to lift individuals, their families, and their communities. 

When she is not reading, writing, or teaching, you can find Crystal romping with her two Golden retrievers and four cats, playing the piano, weaving, sketching, cooking, and gaming.