By
September 19, 2025
Inlandia Institute’s Executive Director Resigns, Prepares to “Pass the Baton”
Cati Porter says “it is time” for an infusion of new leadership
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Cati Porter has resigned as executive director of Inland Empire’s literary organization after twelve years of leading the nonprofit. Her resignation is effective Dec. 15.
“As Inlandia prepares to enter its third decade, it is time to make space for transformative new leadership through a competitive hiring process in order to meet the future head on,” Porter said.
Marion Mitchell-Wilson founded Inlandia Institute in 2007, laying the groundwork for the community of readers, writers, and creative thinkers. With Porter at the helm, Inlandia has grown steadily through the years with the mission of supporting and expanding literary activity in the Inland Empire with public programming, a publications division, and workshops for writers, new and established.
Porter has led the organization as its executive director since 2012, when Mitchell-Wilson retired because she was ill. Mitchell-Wilson appointed Porter as her successor and established an endowment before her death in 2015 that ensures the organization’s long-term stability.
“Being the executive director who follows the founder of an organization is quite a challenge,” said Chuck Wilson, Mitchell-Wilson’s husband and a former Inlandia Institute board member. “Cati has more than met that challenge with Inlandia. She strengthened and built upon the foundation, bringing Inlandia to where it is today.”
What began as a grassroots organization became a well-established, well-regarded nonprofit corporation with Porter as its executive director. Porter’s resignation marks the first time ever in the organization’s 18-year history that the board of directors will conduct a search for an executive director.
“In this historical moment it is imperative that Inlandia take proactive steps to ensure its future, and my intention was never to stay in this position forever but instead to ‘hold down the fort’ for Marion while she recovered from her illness,” Porter said. “I have felt my way through the process of learning the ropes, but now, while I am still here to provide mentorship support, it is important to begin the process of transition.”
Under Porter’s leadership, several important projects have come to fruition including the Hillary Gravendyk Prize for poetry, the Eliud Martínez Prize for prose, and the Riverside County Teen Poet Laureate. She expanded Inlandia’s reach through strategic partnerships with major museums and cultural institutions throughout the region and beyond. In addition, she successfully brought in more than $750,000 from foundation, federal, state, and local governmental grants.
“She has built on the foundation established by our founder, Marion Mitchell-Wilson, and taken the organization to unexpected new heights,” said founding board member and author Ellen Estilai, who has worked with Porter for 15 years as a board officer, committee member, workshop attendee, and author. “I have seen Cati bring her diverse talents to multiple innovative projects. She is an unflappable problem solver. With a small but dedicated staff and never enough resources, she has worked small miracles, crafting unique programs for a variety of audiences.”
Added former board president and community leader Frances J. Vasquez, “One of Cati Porter’s phenomenal leadership traits is her ability to multi-task and accomplish so much — she deftly handles many administrative duties almost simultaneously, and swiftly. We’ll miss her charming demeanor and vast institutional knowledge of Inlandia.”
Notably, Porter is a poet who has published several books of poetry and whose knowledge of creative writing and the literary world was integral to the organization’s success.
“Cati wore a lot of hats. She successfully grew the organization amidst an always challenging environment for nonprofits,” said Minerva Canto, co-president of Inlandia’s board of directors and a journalist. “An accomplished poet, she leveraged her love for words, books and the Inland Empire into building an organization that is loved by so many even beyond the region because of her passion for the community and hardworking ethic.”
Porter has been a well-loved figure in the region’s literary scene, as Kristie Camacho, board co-president and English professor at College of the Desert can attest.
“Cati has been a bright light in my writing life since I first walked into an Inlandia workshop many years ago. Her unwavering positivity and deep respect for the craft of writing have been a touchstone for writers across the Inland Empire,” Camacho said. “With passion and expertise, Cati helped build a vibrant literary community that will continue to nurture and sustain the region’s creative culture for years to come.”
Inlandia’s board of directors will be posting the job listing soon.
Inlandia Institute 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.
