The Poetry Foundation Welcomes New Trustees

Chicago, IL, May 14, 2025—The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce four new appointees to its Board of Trustees: Camille G. Bacon, Eric Herman, Beata D. Kirr, and Mario Treto, Jr.

“It’s an honor to welcome these trustees to the Poetry Foundation,” said board chair, Gwendolyn Perry Davis. “We look forward to learning from their expertise and knowledge in their respective fields. We are also thrilled that with the addition of Camille Bacon, four poets will be serving on the board, helping to steer the Foundation’s mission to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry.”

Camille Gallogly Bacon is a Chicago-based writer and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Jupiter Magazine. She is cultivating a "sweet Black writing life" as informed by the words of poet Nikky Finney and the infinite wisdom of the Black feminist tradition more broadly. Her practice is invested in illuminating the wayward ingenuity of the Black creative spirit and excavating how our relationships to contemporary art can catalyze a collective reorientation towards relation, connection, and intimacy and away from apathy and amnesia. In 2025, the Chicago City Council appointed Bacon to the Chicago Cultural Advisory Council. 

Eric Herman is a managing director with a global CEO advisory firm. He focuses most of his time on crisis communications and helping companies navigate significant reputational issues. Previously, he was a senior vice president at Avoq and its predecessor firms, where he specialized in crisis and litigation communications as well as public affairs advocacy campaigns, for which he won numerous industry awards. For three consecutive years, Lawdragon has named Herman to its elite list of “100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting” in recognition of his crisis work. 

Herman began his career as a journalist, working as a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Daily News. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern University and a JD from the DePaul University College of Law. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his three sons. 

Beata D. Kirr serves as managing director and chief impact officer for The Copia Group, a lower middle market direct lending investment firm focused on providing non-dilutive growth capital in the pursuit of narrowing the wealth gap. Kirr is an Investment Committee member and is primarily responsible for impact outcomes, measurement, and monitoring across Copia’s portfolio. 

Prior to Copia, Kirr spent 17 years at Bernstein Private Wealth, most recently as co-chief investment officer, overseeing $100 billion of assets, driving strategic allocation, manager selection, and client communication. She co-led a nationwide organization of 45 professionals and was a member of the Private Wealth Executive Leadership Team. In that role, Kirr spearheaded the creation and allocation design for $7 billion of purpose-driven portfolios, including a private equity/venture capital offering targeting economic inclusion, environmental sustainability, and health equity. 

Mario Treto, Jr. was appointed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to serve as the secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in 2021. In this role, he leads and oversees the State of Illinois's lead regulatory agency charged with strengthening consumer protections through the licensing of more than 1.2 million professionals and the regulation of banking and financial services. Under his leadership, the agency has increased departmental efficiencies, updated and modernized professional regulatory frameworks, reduced barriers to licensure, increased license portability for veterans and their spouses, and established diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.

Secretary Treto serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Professional Responsibility and Indiana University Maurer School of Law Alumni Board. Treto is a fellow at Leadership Greater Chicago, University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and David Bohnett Leaders at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

Following a May 5 board meeting, trustees were able to experience the Poetry Out Loud Finals held in Washington, DC, May 6 and 7. The Finals celebrated the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud®, a national poetry recitation competition for high school students presented by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Mid Atlantic Arts and state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Isavel Mendoza from Pennsylvania was named the 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and received a $20,000 cash prize. 

The Foundation bids farewell to trustees Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr. and Angel Ysaguirre and thanks them for their years of leadership, service, and dedication. 

About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation recognizes the power of words to transform lives. The Foundation works to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry. Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Liz O’Connell-Thompson, Media Manager, [email protected]