“Claudia Jensen Dudley is not only an extraordinary poet, she is also a gifted storyteller and educator. I have seen first hand how skillfully she infuses poetry into the minds and hearts of students, introducing and familiarizing them to a new vehicle in which to express themselves. She is a kind and gentle educator, organized, professional and talented. She will be a delight to any classroom, while she emphasizes the significance of the written word using the imagination, feelings and perceptions of the students she teaches. I highly recommend her.”

“Having known Claudia Dudley seventeen years through the Richmond District Neighborhood Center’s programs, I can attest to her formidable skills in engaging and inspiring youngsters in writing and performing. As she knows so well, after school teaching is some of the toughest teaching there is. Claudia worked tirelessly to engage a diverse group of children with their own particular interests at heart. With close attention to detail, she prepared her students annually for successful presentations to large audiences, both written and oral. It is also no small detail that Claudia and her family are both of and for this community. Maintaining her dedication to excellence in the craft of poetry, both spoken word and writing, has inspired and continues to inspire all those who know her.”

“I have been a member of The Sequoias’ creative writing group since the fall of 2013. For me it has been a real growth experience, and a chance to explore my creative literary side...the writing in and out of class has been a real pleasure - a chance to explore poetry and a myriad of topics. Claudia as facilitator has been quite marvelous. She has a way of encouraging one’s creative side by way of positive feedback, as well as by sharing her own writings. The experience of reading one’s own work out loud to the group is part of the experience, and one to which I look forward each week. Thank you, Claudia.”

“I have participated in Claudia’s writing class at The Sequoias for about two years. I enjoy using her ‘prompts’ as the basis for writing assignments, especially on subjects that are new to me. Lately, I have experimented with a new genre, humorous subjects, which I have greatly enjoyed. Thanks to Claudia’s class, writing good humor has become a new and important goal. Claudia is always supportive and appreciative of her student’s writings. And the students enjoy her poems and essays.”

“My elementary school poetry teacher, Claudia, encouraged ten-year-old me to get my first poem published, and I listened. This simple poem called ‘The Comet’s Secret’ (which I realize now was my very first creation story) was published Christmas Day in 1998 in the San Francisco Chronicle as the headlining poem. So it began. Today I am an activist, on a mission to keeping art alive and thriving in San Francisco’s increasingly ‘techifying’ economy. I’m also a feature filmmaker trying to prevent nuclear disaster in California and beyond, carving out what will hopefully be a cleaner energy future for the generations to come. I’m still a poet, but I’ve also set my poems to music and become a musician. And I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m living the most meaningful life I can live, and it is because of all of those lightworkers, teachers, and healers who have encouraged my evolutionary growth toward reaching my fullest potential. Claudia Dudley certainly got the ball rolling. With her guidance and support, I won three Scholastic Achievement Awards for my writing and art for three consecutive years, all before turning thirteen. Today, my films have been officially selected at several film festivals and received a nomination for Best Cinematography from the SoCal Creative and Innovative Film festival in 2014. And the journey continues. Orson Welles said, “A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.” I now feature that line at the top of my portfolio and website because I feel it perfectly describes my work. As I forge ahead on the path of my life, I plan to continue raising awareness and sharing joy, building a global community that thrives on justice, sustainability, and kindness, and opening minds and hearts to the realities we face today. And it all started with a poem. Thank you, Claudia, for inspiring me and so many others. We are eternally grateful.”