—2025—
Managing Editors
Acquisitions Editors
Fiction Editors
Lee Groen, Paige Vandop
Tara Wohlleben, Ali Dillon-Cardinal
Alexandra Groenwoldt, Stephanie Zimmerman, Jennavieve Strub
Poetry Editors
Non-Fiction Editors
Elliaz Luna, Bailey Bellosillo, Taylor Fleming
Kiera Bogle, Marina McDonald, Grace Penner
Script Editors
Copy Editor
Book Review Editor
Gustafson Feature Writers
Web and Art Editor
Designer
Portfolio Series Coordinators
AV Editor
Advertising Coordinator
Subscriptions & Merch Team
Zoe Chong, Daxton Comba
Elliaz Luna
Stephanie Zimmerman
Taylor Fleming, Pamela Medland
Tara Wohlleben
José Padilla
Zoe Chong
Daxton Comba
Emily Brandstaetter
Jennavieve Strub, Kiera Bogle, Beatrix Taylor, Jenaya Shaw
Social Media & Fundraising Team
Publisher
Taylor Fleming, Emily Bradstaetter
Joy Gugeler
Managing Editors
Lee Groen
Lee is a fourth-year Creative Writing student at VIU. In 2020 he was awarded the Pat Bevan Scholarship in Creative Writing for Fiction and was a Meadowlarks Award winner in 2024. Lee’s short story “The Lucky Ones” appeared in Portal 2021, and his stories “A Star Walked South” and “The Last Powderman” appeared in Portal 2024. His work has also previously been published in GOOEY Magazine, The Navigator, and Sea & Cedar. Lee is currently working on a collection of poetry and his debut novel.
Paige Vandop
Paige is a third-year Creative Writing student at VIU. She has self-published a young adult science fiction novel, The Masked Rebellion, with a trilogy in the works. Her short story “Body Double” was shortlisted in the Island Short Fiction Review in 2024. Two of her short stories, “Blue Prints” and "Shifting Gears,” have been published in The Navigator. An academic paper she edited was awarded the Thomas Clark Silver Medal at the Global Undergraduate Awards. She was a Non-fiction Editor for Portal 2024 and joined The Navigator as Copy Editor. She also works as a freelance editor.
Acquisition Editors
Ali Dillon-Cardinal
Ali is a third-year Creative Writing student focusing on script writing and psychology at VIU. She has twice won the Polar Expressions Writing contest with a short story and poem. She self-published a collection of poetry entitled This in 2022. Her one-act play was produced at VIU’s One Act Festival in 2023. In 2024, her play The Kids Are All Dying was sponsored and produced at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival and she was an Editorial Assistant for Counterflow magazine. She was a Poetry Editor and on the Subscriptions team for Portal 2024.
Tara Wohlleben
Tara is a fourth-year Creative Writing major and English minor. They enjoy writing genre fiction and experimenting in poetry. Their essay “Living the Dream” was published in The Navigator in 2024. Previously they were a Poetry Editor and Feature Editor for Portal 2024 and co-interviewed Gustafson Distinguished Poet Karen Solie for that issue. During the summer they interned at OnSpec magazine. They are also the Web and Art Editor for Portal 2025.
Editors
Stephanie Zimmerman
Fiction Editor
Stephanie is pursuing her BA in Creative Writing at VIU. She received the Governor General’s Award in high school and writes fiction in a range of genres. She is a Fiction Editor and the Book Review Editor for the 2025 issue of Portal.
Alexandra Groenwoldt
Fiction Editor
Alexandra is a second-year Creative Writing and Psychology student at VIU and an international student from Germany. In high school, she helped found a student newspaper and was its Managing Editor. She is working on multiple writing projects, including her debut novel. Her short story “How to Make a Sand Cake” has been published in GOOEY Magazine in 2024. Alexandra is currently a Fiction Editor and on the Advertising team for Portal 2025.
Jennavieve Strub
Fiction Editor
Jennavieve is a third-year Psychology major and Creative Writing major at VIU. She enjoys writing poetry and non-fiction. Her photography pieces “The Only One Here” and “Manmade” appear in Portal 2025. Jenn is the BC Magazines Merch and Subscriptions intern for Portal as well as a Fiction Editor and a member of the Social Media team.
Taylor Fleming
Poetry Editor
Taylor is a fourth-year Creative Writing major and Journalism minor. She received ‘Best Performance’ for her spoken word piece at VIU’s 2023 CREATE Conference. Her poem “Please Don’t Touch Me” was published in Portal 2024. She received the Kevin Roberts Poetry Award and was recently shortlisted for Polar Expressions’ national poetry contest for their upcoming collection, Winter’s Melody. She is a Poetry Editor, Feature Editor, and member of the Social Media team for Portal 2025.
Bailey Bellosillo
Poetry Editor
Bailey Bellosillo is a third-year Creative Writing student who is currently an active member of the VIU Dance Team where she is also working as the team photographer. Her nonfiction piece "Dancers, Dreaming, and Original Joe's" has been published in The Navigator and “Safety in Strangers" is her first publication in Portal.
Elliaz Luna
Poetry Editor
Elliaz is an English Literature major capping their final year of studies with a publishing-focused semester at VIU. Back home in Belize, he interns at Cubola Publishing as an Assistant Editor, amongst other associated disciplines. His nonfiction short story “All Kain A Titi” was published in Bent Pin Press. They are consistently working toward finishing writing projects in multiple genres, including magical realism novellas and poetry anthologies. He is currently a Poetry Editor and Copy Editor for Portal 2025.
Kiera Bogle
Non-Fiction Editor
Kiera is a third-year Bachelor of Education student taking Creative Writing electives after being awarded an entrance scholarship to the University of Victoria’s Creative Writing Program. She was a Fiction Editor and on the Subscriptions team for Portal 2024 and is returning to the latter this year now as a Non-fiction Editor.
Marina McDonald
Non-Fiction Editor
Marina is a third-year Creative Writing and Journalism student and a publishing assistant at Strong Nations Publishing. She received the Heartstone Foundation Bursary in 2021. Her poem “Apple of My Eye” was published in Portal 2024 and she was awarded the Pat Bevan Scholarship in Creative Writing for Poetry. She also works as a women’s artistic gymnastics, trampoline, and tumbling coach. She is a Non-fiction Editor and on the Merchandise and Subscriptions team for Portal 2025.
Grace Penner
Non-Fiction Editor
Grace is a third year Creative Writing and Journalism student at VIU. She works as a news reporter for The Navigator, and is currently pursuing sports journalism with hockey teams such as the VIU Mariners and Nanaimo Clippers. She is currently a Non-Fiction Editor and Art Director for Portal 2025.
Zoe Chong
Script Editor
Zoe is a third-year Creative Writing major at VIU. Her script excerpt “Tricks of the Trade” was featured in the 2024 issue of Portal, and she has numerous book reviews published with Vancouver Island Bookcrate. She is the Script Editor as well as the Portfolio Reading Series Coordinator for Portal 2025.
Daxton Comba
Script Editor
Daxton is a second year Creative Writing student, and a graduated Graphic Designer. He’s very passionate about movies and film history. From short stories to stage plays and even full-length screenplays, he always has multiple projects going, and tends to stay up past his bedtime. Daxton is currently the Audio-Visual intern for Portal, as well as a Script Editor for Portal 2025.
Pamela Medland
Feature Editor
Pamela's poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her chapbook Bright Blade was published in 2020 and her full-length poetry collection Echo of Ash in 2021. She won the 2024 Shuswap Writer’s Association Word on the Lake Writing Contest for her poem “A House of Doors,” while “Blowing Water” was awarded the 2024 Mary Garland Coleman Prize in Lyric Poetry. She is a member of the Advertising team and a Feature Editor for Portal’s 2025 issue.
Emily Brandstaetter
Advertising Coordinator
Emily is a third-year Creative Writing major and Marketing minor. She has a passion for poetry and loves to share her pieces with the world. Her work has been published in The Navigator magazine and she is working on her first anthology which she hopes will be released soon. She currently works as the Social Media Manager for The Navigator magazine and joined the Ad team for the 2025 issue of Portal.
Jenaya Shaw
Subscription and Merch Team
Jenaya is a multi-genre writer and artist in her fourth year as a Creative Writing and Psychology major. She is currently the Managing Editor of The Navigator at VIU. Jenaya was Art Director for Portal 2024 as well as part of the Social Media team. Her review of Burning Sage and photos “Match Made” and “Wall-Crawler” appear in Portal 2024. She is an Editor for GOOEY Magazine, has served as Program Coordinator for the Nanaimo Arts Council’s Artwalk in 2024, as well as Islands Short Fiction Review in 2024 and 2025. Jenaya spends her free time creating visual art, playing survival horror, and writing poetry and fiction. Her non-fiction piece “In the Rear View” and poem “Little Anna Marie” appear in Portal 2025.
Beatrix Taylor
Subscription and Merch Team
Beatrix Taylor is a fourth year student completing a Creative Writing major and an English minor. She has had contributor pieces published in Portal 2023 and 2024. Her creative non-fiction piece, "Good Sport", appeared in The Navigator's, and her poem, "Stomaching the Landscape", was published in The Navigator's 2024 print run. Beatrix acted as Acquisitions Editor for Portal 2024, and is currently part of the team at The Navigator.
Designer
José Padilla
José Padilla is a third year graphic design student at VIU with a deep passion for print production and brand design. This is his first year working as the Designer for Portal, handling layout and typography.