Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, Virginia's current Poet Laureate, is also a painter, sculptor and educator. In 1969, she graduated from Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington) with a BA in English. She holds two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from George Mason University, where she received the first doctorate presented by the school.

She has published four books, Contrary Visions,  Gathering Light,  Death Comes Riding, and Greatest Hits. In addition, she is Co-Editor of In a Certain Place, an anthology and  Four Virginia Poets Laureate: A Teaching Guide.

Carolyn's poems and writings appear widely in such magazines, journals, and anthologies as Nimrod International Journal, The Ledge, Anthology of Magazine Verse & Yearbook of American Poetry, WPFW 89.3 FM Poetry Anthology, Blood to Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust, Dominion Review, Hispanic Culture Review, Prairie Schooner, Poet Lore, Mid-American Review, Antioch Review, Passages North, The Journal of Teaching Writing and The Writing Center Journal.

Her poetry honors include three Pushcart Prize nominations, an Edgar Allan Poe first place award, three Artist-in-Education grants and one Arts-on-the-Road grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. In 1992, Carolyn was named a Virginia Cultural Laureate for her contributions to American Literature.

For her work as Virginia's Poet Laureate, Carolyn was awarded a Resolution of Appreciation by the Board of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2007, she was named Alumna of the Year by George Mason University for outstanding professional achievement and dedication to the university. Also, she was named the 2007 University of Mary Washington Alumna of the Year for her advocacy on behalf of the arts as Virginia's Poet Laureate and for her dedication as a poet/artist to hundreds of students in Virginia's schools.

Reproductions of her paintings and sculpture adorn the covers and pages of her books. Currently, she lives in Hardyville, Virginia, with her husband, Patricio.