<p>Marie Marchand talks about her experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic lock-down. She also shares some poems written during that time. Marie is a poet and an Associate Director of the GEAR UP program at Central Washington University.</p> <p>Throughout her career, Marie has been committed to equity and community service. She served for five years as an adjunct faculty member in the Human Services Program at Western Washington University. She was executive director of Friendship House homeless shelter in Mount Vernon, and the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center in Bellingham, where she ran a program offering high school students post-graduation resources. Marie is a recipient of the Whatcom Peace Builder Award and the Bishop Melvin E. and Lucile Wheatley Peace & Justice Award. She served on the boards of the Bellingham Boys & Girls Club, the Wyoming State Poetry Society (WyoPoets), and NAMI Whatcom. She is currently a board officer of THE MONARCH TRAIN, a nonprofit that provides free books to children in rural Idaho. In her free time, she pursues her passion for poetry.</p>