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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2025
Inlandia Institute opens new chapter with the hiring of executive director
Mckenna Deluca-Martinez formerly ran the Claremont Forum bookshop and Prison Library Project
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Inlandia Institute, Inland Empire’s literary arts nonprofit, has selected as its next executive director an experienced nonprofit leader passionate about the role of literature and arts in uplifting communities, the board of directors announced Monday.
Deluca-Martinez is the former programs director for the Claremont Forum, where she led daily operations at the organization’s bookshop for five years while directing the Prison Library Project to provide books and educational materials to people incarcerated at more than 400 facilities nationwide. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Prison Library Press, helping amplify the work of incarcerated writers and artists.
“Arts and literature are the lifeblood of our home in the Inland Empire,” Deluca-Martinez said. “I am deeply grateful and excited for the opportunity to help inspire a new wave of creativity for our community as I step into the role as the new leader of the already-amazing Inlandia team.”
Deluca-Martinez starts at Inlandia on Dec. 1. She will take over the helm of Inlandia Institute when current executive director Cati Porter steps down on Dec. 15. Porter, a poet who is working on a memoir, announced her resignation in September after 12 years in her post, saying she wanted “to make way for transformative new leadership.”
“Mckenna Deluca-Martinez has the energy and the passion for the work, and I think she’s going to do an awesome job,” Porter said this week. “It will be my privilege to be able to mentor her in any way that I can.”
Inlandia’s board of directors selected Deluca-Martinez after a nationwide search for a new leader who will guide the organization into its third decade.
“Along with her experience, Mckenna brings a wealth of ideas that will help cement Inlandia’s future,” said Minerva Canto, board co-president and a board member since 2020. “Her care and commitment to incarcerated individuals, despite institutional challenges, shows that she has what is needed to run a literary nonprofit – an indefatigable spirit and hardworking ethic.”
The hiring committee, led by Canto and co-president Kristie Camacho, included board secretary Tiffany Elliott, founding board member Ellen Estilai, and Chuck Wilson, a former board member and husband to Inlandia Institute founder Marion Mitchell-Wilson.
“Deluca-Martinez combines a refreshing enthusiasm for the position with several years of relevant nonprofit experience,” Wilson said.
While working at and overseeing operations at the bookshop, the strategic work Deluca-Martinez engaged in helped expand the reach of the prison library project so that more inmates were able to receive educational materials and books, up to 30,000 annually.
“Mckenna has the experience, energy, and enthusiasm necessary to lead Inlandia Institute into its next chapter,” Estilai said. “She understands the importance of literature in fostering personal growth and creating a vibrant community, and she has the creativity to make that happen.”
Inlandia Institute, founded by Mitchell-Wilson in 2007, is a regionally focused literary and cultural arts non-profit and publishing house whose mission is to promote literary activity in all its forms throughout Inland Southern California. For more about Inlandia, please visit http://inlandiainstitute.org.
