Our Leadership
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Judy J R Turek
Peter V. Dugan
Tony Iovino
Judy JR Turek is an award-winning poet, editor, mentor, and writing coach who has been a vibrant presence in the Long Island poetry community for many years.
She was named the 2019 Long Island Poet of the Year and a 2020 Hometown Hero and has received numerous honors for her poetry and service to the arts.
Judy is the author of twelve poetry collections, and her work has been published internationally. Known as “The Purple Poet,” she hosts poetry programs throughout Long Island and has written a poem every day for more than 22 years.
Founder/Director/President
Peter V. Dugan is a poet, author, and Poet Laureate of Nassau County Emeritus.
A lifelong Long Islander, he has published nine collections of poetry, and his work has appeared widely in print and online anthologies and literary magazines.
He has long been active in the Long Island poetry community and has worked to encourage and mentor other poets, including developing the Nassau County Poet Laureate Society’s Mentor-Mentee Program. He is also a recipient of the LI Bards Poet Mentor Award.
Founder/Director/Secretary-Treasurer
Tony Iovino is a poet, author, and creator of programs that bring poets and audiences together. He is the author of the poetry collection From the Land of Sidewalks and Lawns (Words With Wings, 2025) and the novel Notary Public Enemy (Diversion Press, 2011), and his poems and essays have appeared in numerous publications. He is the founder and host of the Summer Gazebo Readings, an outdoor poetry series in Oceanside, New York, and Poetry: Near and Afar, an online series connecting New York poets with poets from across the United States and around the world.
Director