About CJ (Kelly) Holstine
CJ Holstine (they/them), MAE is the owner of WordHaven BookHouse, LLC (a BookShop & Writing Center in Sheboygan, WI); an Equity 2.0 Consultant, a speaker; and an author/writer.
Holstine is the 2018/2019 Minnesota State Teacher of the Year, the 2018 Honoree for Minnesota Women Breaking Barriers, the 2019 Minnesota Lynx Women’s Spotlight Selection for Leader and Innovator in Arts and Education, the 2019 Minnesota Women’s Press Favorite Leader in Education, and one of Sheboygan County’s 2022 People of the Year. Holstine was also nominated for the Insight’s Women of Influence in the New North award in 2023.
They own and run WordHaven BookHouse: a BookShop & Writing Center rooted in Equity 2.0. WordHaven opened on Independent Bookstore Day (4/30) in Sheboygan, WI, in 2022. The shop was nominated for 2022 Retailer of the Year and Holstine was nominated for the 2022 MVP of the Team Award. WordHaven was also nominated for the 2023 Retailer of the Year Award and the 2023 Working Together Award for WordPlay - a program run with Above & Beyond Children’s Museum.
Holstine’s TED-Ed Talk: Educators Must Be More Than Allies was released in January of 2020.
Holstine’s co-written chapter, “Impact of Trauma on Our Youth," is published in the book, Flip the System: How Teachers Can Transform Education and Save Democracy. Her monologue, “A Butch’s Guide to Excavating Femininity,” is published in the play, Naked I: Insides Out.
They have been a Columnist for Education Post and a contributing writer for The Progressive. They have also published articles in The Independent, Minnesota Women’s Press, NEA Today, AFT Voices, and Icon Newspaper.
Holstine has worked and volunteered in the fields of education, media, team building, social services, animal rescue, and theatre.
They have taught High School English, instructed Undergraduate and Graduate level Education courses at Augsburg University, and trained thousands of people on Equity 2.0. They are a public speaker and workshop facilitator. Contact them for more information on [Un]Keynotes, Equity 2.0 Consulting & Trainings, and Writing Workshops/Writing Consulting.
One of their professional highlights was to help design, open, and run an Alternative High School: Tokata Learning Center in Shakopee, MN, from 2012-2019.
They run an online support group for Educators in the Rainbow Community and an online Equity 2.0 Advocacy Group. Click here to learn more about some of their other acts of advocacy.
Holstine has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Massachusetts, a Communication Arts and Literature teaching license from Augsburg University, and a Master of Arts in Education from Augsburg University.
They live in Sheboygan, WI, with their partner, two kids, and family of rescue animals.