About Girls Write Now
Our Vision—in Under a Minute
Girls Write Now at a Glance:
Snapshots of People & Projects
Different Perspectives
at Girls Write Now
A Passengers Library
by Mentee Anais Fernandez
Girls Write Now
by NBCU
Girls Write Now Presents
Ode to Malala
Let’s Create Together
We are a diverse, multi-generational, passionate community of writers, creatives, leaders, artists and activists who all share a love of stories. Our programs are interwoven with wellness- and activist-minded curricula and offer endless opportunities for friendship, networking and professional development support.
The Wholeness of Who We Are: Our Intersectional Identities
Since 1998, Girls Write Now has been forging a path for a diverse powerhouse of voices across genders, races, ages, and socio-economic backgrounds to uplift the leaders of tomorrow. Our community spread across the nation is loudly and proudly telling their stories every day, and we’re doing our part to ensure they’re heard. As we continue to build on the last three decades, we remain committed to constantly pushing the bounds of our internal and societal imaginations through a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and, most importantly, belonging.
Approaching Three Decades of
Transformative Stories
Mission
Girls Write Now is a nationally award-winning nonprofit, media brand, and multi-generational community. For nearly three decades, we have broken down the barriers of gender, age, race, and poverty to mentor, teach, and connect writers and leaders across disciplines and around the nation. With a focus on those historically disempowered due to their gender and gender identity, we harness the power of stories to shape culture, impact industries, and bridge worlds.
Championing Diverse Perspectives
90% YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR
75% IMMIGRANT OR FIRST GENERATION
90% HIGH
NEED
25%
LGBTQIA+
Girls Write Now serves a culturally and educationally diverse community—Among our mentees, 90% of color, 90% high need, 75% immigrant or first generation and 25% LGBTQIA+/gender-expansive.
Systemically deprived resources and opportunities in school and the job market, Girls Write Now is uniquely positioned to help correct these longstanding inequalities.
Impact
Girls Write Now consistently demonstrates that our approach is effective in increasing the rate of success experienced by young women and gender-expansive young adults who face systemic inequality and injustice.
- Social Emotional Learning
100% of mentees experience an increase in positive identity—while gaining a mentor for life to help keep that confidence. - Publications
Mentees publish in the New York Times, Teen Vogue & Buzzfeed, among other outlets. - Contests, Scholarships & Awards
Mentees win hundreds of honors and financial support for college. - College Readiness
100% of our seniors go to college. - Job & Internship Placements
We place mentees at companies in publishing, entertainment, media, technology & more.
Social-Emotional Learning
Girls Write Now writing and mentoring programs are rooted in social-emotional learning. Research shows that when young people succeed in these capacities, they also achieve long-term outcomes such as improved academic performance and decreased negative risk-taking behaviors.
Positive Identity
Self Management
Contribution
Academic Self-Efficacy
Social Skills
Social Capital
Track Record of Success
2x by the White House as one of the nation’s top youth programs
2x by the Nonprofit Excellence Awards as one of New York’s top 10 nonprofits for management
By Youth INC for Youth Innovation
By Melinda Gates’ The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health
As a Diane von Furstenberg People’s Voice Nominee
By NBCUniversal’s 21st Century Solutions for Social Innovation
2024 Platinum Seal of Transparency
We recently earned a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency on Guidestar for the second year in a row!
Meet Our Team
Marketing & Web Design Coordinator
Julia Andresakis
Julia Andresakis is a writer born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a former mentee, intern, and digital media producer for Girls Write Now — if you’ve scrolled through the Resources section of the website, you are familiar with her work. She holds a degree in film and creative writing from Brooklyn College. While an undergraduate, she placed first in fiction in the 2019-2020 CUNYwide LaborArts “Making Work Visible” contest. An aficionado for all things surreal, uncanny, and liminal, her work typically focuses on lonely souls pursuing unconventional obsessions. Julia is excited to support Girls Write Now in a more involved capacity.
Community Coordinator
Azia Armstead
Azia Armstead (she/her) is a poet from Richmond, Virginia. She holds an MFA in Poetry from New York University where she received the Goldwater Fellowship. In 2019, Azia was a finalist for the Furious Flower Poetry Prize judged by A. Van Jordan and honorable mention for the Arts Club of Washington’s Scholarship Award for Poetry. Azia was chosen as a finalist for the 2023 Nine Syllables Press Chapbook Contest. Her work has appeared in Boston Review, The Quarry, Obsidian, Rattle and elsewhere. She currently lives in Brooklyn.
Fellow
Annaya Baynes
Annaya Baynes (she/they) is excited to join the Girls Write Now team as a Fellow after being a mentee. They recently graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French. As an undergraduate, she worked on Spelman’s social justice podcast, The Blue Record, and the reproductive justice-oriented podcast Black Feminist Rants. Annaya has interned at various publishing houses, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and The Feminist Press. They have a deep love for literature and film. In her free time, she enjoys baking.
Creative Director, Marketing & Communications
Chelle Carter-Wilson
Storytelling is in Chelle’s DNA. Chelle (Rochelle)’s imagination is the lens through which she experiences the world. Like many children, life obtruded upon her dreams, and bit by bit, she forgot them. Her stories never forgot her. In the wake of a career as an HR executive, she evolved into perhaps the world’s most reluctant stay-at-home mom. She raised two children, trained a beloved boxer puppy, and in quiet moments, listened to the muse. She returned to writing and hasn’t stopped. A linguaphile and lover of the oxford comma, anything, in the form of a story can engage, inform, and delight. A grateful steward of Girls Write Now’s emerging creatives, she commits to never let any writer ignore a siren’s call.
Special Projects Coordinator
Kathryn Destin
Kathryn is a nonprofit researcher and writer and also was the 2022-23 Editor-In-Residence for Girls Write Now. An only child from Harlem, NYC, Kathryn looks for community in many spaces centered on her interests such as cooking, comedy, Blackness, queerness and investigative journalism. She is a Girls Write Now mentee and is fascinated by film, media and writing as avenues for social advocacy and activism. As a young creative, she is excited to utilize various mediums to speak against injustice and share stories from marginalized voices.
Community Coordinator
Sally Familia
Sally Familia (they/them) is a queer poet and freelance editor. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Washington Heights, Familia has a rooted passion for their community. They spent a year serving as senior editor for La Galería Magazine, a Dominican-based magazine for the Dominican diaspora in Washington Heights. They hold a B.A. in creative writing with a focus on poetry from SUNY Oswego. Most recently, Sally’s passions have shifted; now incorporating a strong desire to work with and for the youth. Sally hopes to merge their love for literature, Queer and BIPOC communities, and the youth as they continue to navigate the artist/ professional dichotomy. Sally has been awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize for the poem, “The Trouble with Reminiscing” (2019). They were also nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Brooklyn Poets for the poem, “Esperanza, Republica Dominicana”. Sally is currently working on their first poetry collection.
Senior Community Manager
Margery Hannah
Margery Hannah is a writer and the Founder and Publisher of The Literary Purveyor.
Director of Development
Ellen Rae Huang
Ellen Rae Huang (she/her) hails from Seattle, WA originally but has always felt like a New Yorker at heart. After graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Theatre, she made her way to NYC. Ellen got her start in event planning while working at Grey Group in their medical education division, but once she transitioned into the nonprofit sector, she never looked back. Over the last 15 years she has developed her fundraising skills, specializing in special events and individual giving, while at Girl Scouts of Greater New York, StoryCorps, and, most recently, at the Korean American Community Foundation. Ellen enjoys hiking, snorkeling, and spending time with her two kids, even when they trounce her at Mario Kart.
Senior Community Manager
Jessica Jagtiani
Jesse Jagtiani is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher of Indian-German heritage residing in New York City. Jesse earned her Doctor of Education in Art & Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, complemented by an MFA in Studio Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and a degree in Visual Communications from the University of Arts, Berlin. Her research centers on the formative dimensions of intuition, bridging indigenous wisdom with contemporary scientific perspectives to foster a balance of the intuitive and the rational mind within Western educational paradigms. Jesse’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and her scholarly contributions extend to various publications, including chapter three of the book Developing Informed Intuition for Decision Making. Jesse has taught in (and outside of) higher education for numerous years and is passionate about supporting emerging artists, writers, and leaders on their creative, academic, and career pathways.
Senior Community Marketing Coordinator
Vahni Kurra
Vahni Kurra (she/hers) hails from disparate parts of the American Midwest with roots in Southern India. She recently earned a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Kenyon College, where she co-edited Hika, Kenyon’s oldest, student-run literary magazine. Vahni’s work centers on themes of displacement, and her personal essay, “Banana Republic,” was published in Oyster River Pages. She is currently the book review editor for Sweet: A Literary Confection. Vahni has always been a strong advocate for the rights of women and trans* folks, as she has interned for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio and helped facilitate a peer support program for Kenyon students impacted by sexual assault. Vahni is excited to blend her passions for gender equality and creative writing as she works with Girls Write Now to ensure that all mentees have the same opportunities that she did to pursue their artistic and personal dreams.
Development Manager
Kelsey LePage
Kelsey LePage comes to Girls Write Now with great experience from administration and fundraising to developing curriculum and teaching youth. She has worked in creative, educational, and humanitarian settings serving local communities — at YMCA, Playworks, and most recently in sales and event management at NY Kids Club. Originally from New Hampshire, Kelsey enjoys hiking, kayaking and would be perfectly happy getting lost in a museum or library for a day. She is excited to be starting a new life in a new city and to be sharing her passions with the Girls Write Now team.
Director of Special Initiatives
Molly MacDermot
Molly is proud to call Girls Write Now her professional home for the last 10 years, leading partnerships, editing the annual anthology, and learning something new every single day from a talented community of writers. In high school, Molly won an emerging journalist award from her local newspaper, which meant receiving a hardcover, dictionary-thesaurus combo that she cherished, spending the rest of her teen years looking up words.Molly studied English and Journalism at Boston University, and wrote for the daily newspaper. One of her first internships in college was at WBAI Radio, obtained by walking into the office and asking if she could intern. Thankfully, they said yes. She has added commas to stories while at The New Yorker, worked in features at Marie Claire and Redbook, and ran teen magazines during the Destiny’s Child days. Girls Write Now is a bright spot for so many and Molly is honored to be a part of the team.
Fellow
Kenna McCafferty
Kenna McCafferty’s writing journey began at home. With her mom as her elementary school librarian, she was quickly introduced to the world of reading and writing. Spending her early childhood in Vienna, Austria, she learned to use writing as a powerful tool of exchange and self discovery. She has since earned a BA in Modern Political Messaging, a major of her own design, from Emerson College. During her time at Emerson she worked with youth development organizations like YouthxLead Sharon and 826 Boston to empower students to find their creative voice. In PR, she worked with mission-driven organizations to communicate around events, initiatives and institutional messaging with a concentration in non-profits, and universities. Her journalistic work has appeared in places like office magazine, PAPER magazine, Alternative Press, The Creative Independent, Dazed, LUNA Collective and more. She has interviewed everyone from Arlo Parks to Coco & Clair Clair, with a special knack for catching on to emerging artists before they make it big. A voracious listener, she continues to conduct interviews and report around music, and is in the process of developing a music blog to catalogue and share her listening journey.
Editor-in-Residence
Emily Méndez
Emily Méndez is a native New Yorker raised in Queens. She completed her undergraduate education at CUNY Hunter College, where she earned a degree in Anthropology. In the future, she hopes to pursue graduate study in Occupational Therapy, where she aspires to help children with disabilities in cultivating vital life skills, fostering independence, and ultimately improve their quality of life. In her free time, Emily finds joy in watching telenovelas, crafting personal essays and letters, and spending quality time with her family.
Salesforce & Systems Manager
Elmer Meza
Elmer Meza earned his BA in Economics from Dartmouth College in 2010. After graduation, he spent a year studying Mandarin Chinese at Fudan University in Shanghai. Elmer began his career as an Americorps VISTA member at New York Cares where he helped to build a local volunteer base for select NYC public schools. Since then, he has focused on technology and data management at Prep for Prep, Oliver Scholars, Delivering Good and most recently at The Brotherhood Sister Sol.
Founder & Executive Director
Maya Nussbaum
Over the past 25 years, Maya Nussbaum has grown Girls Write Now into one of the nation’s leading institutions creating change at the intersection of gender, race, age, and poverty. In addition to being the first writing and mentoring organization of its kind, Girls Write Now continually ranks among the top programs nationwide for driving social-emotional growth for youth. Under Maya’s stewardship, the nationally award-winning nonprofit has mentored the next generation of writers and leaders to impact businesses across industries, shape culture, and change the conversation. Maya has been distinguished three times by the White House, including by the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities and as a White House Champion of Change.
Director, People & Culture
Daniella Olibrice
Daniella Olibrice is a native New Yorker who enjoys exploring the city’s many facets—its arts, foods, nature, neighborhoods, and people. She comes to Girls Write Now after having been involved in and managed capacity building, workforce development, mentoring and academic programs at universities and non-profit organizations in New York. Her passion for education started in college when she worked with the Cooper Union Saturday Art Program, an afterschool program targeted to students from NYC high schools who were underrepresented in the visual arts and architecture. Daniella has taught as an adjunct professor with State University of New York and City University of New York for several years. In the teaching and mentoring roles she’s held, what she has enjoyed most is the nurturing of the talents she sees in others. Although her first mode of expression was visual (drawing, collage, photography, etc.), she has always been an avid reader, and in the last few years has been exploring different writing genres such as memoir, short stories, and poetry as part of her artistic practice.
Senior Grants Manager
Emily Oppenheimer
Emily comes to Girls Write Now with experience in both family philanthropy and nonprofit development supporting holistic, community-based work with youth and whole families that advances equity and social justice across Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Emily has a Liberal Arts degree and an MS in Public and Urban Policy Analysis, both from The New School. Emily has lived in New York City since 2007. She is a compulsive bookworm, is always planning her next travel adventure, and has recently taken up surfing.
Fellow
Ayana Perkins
Ayana Danae Perkins, a versatile creative, originates from the South Bronx, NY, where she spent 23 years before settling in Jersey City in 2021. In February of 2020, she earned her A.A. Degree in English from Bronx Community College and proudly joined the Phi Theta Kappa International College Honor Society the prior year. Her journey as an employee at Bronx Community College spanned nearly five years, beginning as a dedicated peer mentor and progressing to achieve a Level 3 CRLA International Peer Educator Training Program Certification. Ayana’s role evolved into a College Assistant where she supervised a student organization, managed program social media, and designed compelling marketing materials. Her versatility shines through, bringing a distinctive vision to digital content, marketing, event planning and beyond. Alongside her professional experience, she has a keen interest in interior design and visual art mediums. Thrilled to be at Girls Write Now, Ayana anticipates fusing her creative passions with her extensive experience in community building and engagement.
Senior Community Manager
Emily Rigby
Emily Rigby (she/her) comes to Girls Write Now with a love of writing, meaningful experience developing curriculum for nonprofit organizations, and a long-held belief that there is no limit to the ways that people can express their thoughts and ideas. There is nothing that sparks her interest more than a complicated, messy protagonist whose story challenges and questions the status quo – and long-form,YouTube video essays. She holds a BA in Creative Writing and Psychology from Ithaca College and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and is excited to share her passion for stories in all forms as a member of the Girls Write Now team.
Senior Salesforce and Systems Administrator
Lisbett Rodriguez
Lisbett Rodriguez (she/her) is a Dominican-American lifelong learner bringing her love of stories, community and service-oriented work. She was previously a Girls Write Now mentee and graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Arts in English. As an undergraduate student, she contributed to producing two publications of the Brooklyn College literary magazine, The Junction which provided her with the tools to support in producing the annual Girls Write Now anthology for three years and counting. In August 2022, she became a Salesforce Certified Administrator after developing a strong interest for systems and databases. She’s passionate about work that centers and uplifts women and gender-expansive folx and has previously worked with two women’s organizations, Legal Momentum and the Brooklyn College Women’s Center. In her free time, she enjoys watching feel-good shows, spending time with friends and playing video games.
Director of Engagement & Partnerships
Erica Silberman
Erica Silberman fell in love with Girls Write Now when she group-taught a playwriting workshop for them in 2005. Through the years, she has stayed involved with the organization as a mentor, a teacher in various outreach programs, and a member of both the Program Advisory Committee and the Host Committee. Erica has an extensive and wide-ranging background in the theatre as an actress, playwright, director, teacher, acting coach, and producer, as well as experience in the design world. She formerly served as co-president of the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition and on the board of the League of Professional Theatre Women. Erica is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Dramatic Question Theatre, where she runs a monthly literary and music salon.