About the Team

Constructors

We're excited to announce this amazing team of Midwest-based constructors who are making some fantastic puzzles for you to solve!

Kate Baicker

Kate Baicker is a health economics professor and is Provost of the University of Chicago.  Her puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Boswords, Crosswords Club, and Universal Crosswords.  She started constructing in 2021 and loves collaborating with new people (though Laura is her favorite - don't tell the others).  She lives in Hyde Park with her husband and cats. 

Zhouqin Burnikel

Zhouqin Burnikel is a crossword constructor from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. She started making crosswords in 2010. She loves walleye, wild rice, T.C. Bear, and most things Minnesotan.

Laura Dershewitz

Laura Dershewitz is a former high school English teacher who now writes and edits educational materials. Her puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Universal Crossword, and the Inkubator. She started constructing in 2021 with the help of her co-constructor and friend, the amazing Kate Baicker. Laura and her family live outside of Chicago, where she enjoys reading, cooking, doomscrolling, and admiring her cats. 

Kelsey Dixon

Kelsey Dixon is a crossword constructor and editor from Chicago. She orders her Italian beef dry with sweet peppers and prays every night for the return of the Rainforest Café frog.

Kelsey also designed our amazing logo!


Will Eisenberg

Will Eisenberg is a French horn player, music teacher, and puzzlemaker. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and still resides in the Twin Cities. He’s the current third horn of Orchestra Iowa and a founding member of the Minnesota Horn Quartet.  Will is part of the leadership team for Lil AVC X in 2024. More of his puzzles can be found on the blog Half-Baked Puzzles.  

Carly Schuna

Carly Schuna (she/they) is originally from Minnesota and has lived in Madison, WI for 15 years. She is SO PSYCHED that the Midwest finally has its own crossword tournament and even more psyched to be a part of it! When not puzzling, Carly is a circus artist and coach. She likes rock climbing and hanging out with her three dogs. 

Sid Sivakumar

Sid Sivakumar is a crossword constructor (by night), and MD/PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis (by day) who's greeted at work by a beautiful east-facing view of downtown St. Louis. Sid regularly contributes puzzles to several publications, and edits for AVCX+ and the Lollapuzzoola crossword tournament in New York City.  

Leadership

Shannon Rapp, Co-Organizer

After enough trips around the tournament circuit, hearing "so when is someone going to host a midwest tournament!?" enough times and eventually realizing that someone had to be me, here we are! 

I'm so excited to bring to life the first annual Midwest Crossword Tournament in Chicago in the fall of 2024. We have such a depth of crossword talent in the Midwest that I can't wait to showcase in a tournament setting for your solving pleasure.  

I couldn't even begin to do this alone; so happy to have a fantastic team of Midwest-based puzzlemakers on board with me! 

Sally Hoelscher, Co-Organizer

Sally Hoelscher is a crossword constructor (for various publications), editor (Lil AVC X), and blogger (Sally's Take on the USA Today Crossword). When not crosswording, she enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, playing board games, and snuggling with her cat. Sally has lived in the Midwest since she was eight months old, first in Missouri, and now in the crossword-friendly state of Iowa.  

Christina Iverson, Editor

Christina is a crossword constructor and associate puzzle editor for the New York Times, currently living in Ames, Iowa. She grew up outside of Duluth, Minnesota, and after living on both coasts, she is happy to be back in the Midwest. She has two young kids, and loves playing games and doing puzzles with them. In her limited free time, she enjoys reading, hiking and cycling. 

Tracy Bennett, Editor

Tracy Bennett is a puzzle editor for the New York Times and a co-founding editor for Inkubator, a publisher of puzzles by women and nonbinary creators.  Before changing careers in 2020, Tracy spent decades as a managing copy editor at Mathematical Reviews/MathSciNet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she still resides.