To our generous Girls Write Now Ambassadors, Agents of Change Partners, Board of Directors and all of the individuals and institutions who cheered us along and deeply invested in our work—we thank you.
Girls Write Now Team
Julia Andresakis
Marketing & Web Design Coordinator
Azia Armstead
Community Coordinator
Annaya Baynes
Fellow
Chelle Carter-Wilson
Creative Director,
Marketing & Communications
Kathryn Destin
Special Projects Coordinator
Sally Familia
Community Coordinator
Margery Hannah
Senior Community Manager
Ellen Rae Huang
Director of Development
Jessica Jagtiani
Senior Community Manager
Vahni Kurra
Senior Community
Marketing Coordinator
Kelsey LePage
Development Manager
Molly MacDermot
Director of Special Initiatives
Kenna McCafferty
Fellow
Emily Méndez
Editor-in-Residence
Elmer Meza
Salesforce & Systems Manager
Emily Oppenheimer
Senior Grants Manager
Daniella Olibrice
Director, People & Culture
Maya Nussbaum
Founder & Executive Director
Ayana Perkins
Fellow
Emily Rigby
Senior Community Manager
Lisbett Rodriguez
Senior Salesforce and Systems Administrator
Erica Silberman
Director of Engagement & Partnerships
Meet the Girls Write Now Staff
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.
Board of Directors
Judith Curr
Girls Write Now Board Chair;
President & Publisher, HarperOne
Gati Curtis
Girls Write Now Vice Chair;
President, Elite Media
Bruce Morrow
Girls Write Now Secretary;
Foundation & Government Grant Specialist
Mustafa Topiwalla
Girls Write Now Treasurer;
Head of Healthcare Corporate & Investment Banking
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
Cate Ambrose
Girls Write Now Finance Chair;
CEO & Board Member, Global Private Capital Association
Lynda Pak
Girls Write Now Tech Committee Chair; Divisional CIO, Global Brands & Functions
Estee Lauder Companies
Ellen Archer
Board Chair Emerita
Stephanie Gordon
Director, Corporate Banking
RBC Capital Markets
Lavaille Lavette
President One Street Books: Managing Partner, JVL Media and Joyful Pen Books
Maya Nussbaum
Girls Write Now
Founder &
Executive Director
Meet the Board of Directors
Judith Curr
Judith Curr is President and Publisher of the HarperOne Group, which was formed in 2018 when Judith joined HarperCollins. It represents a broad and diverse publishing landscape, bringing together four imprints, each with their own unique editorial vision: HarperOne, Amistad, HarperCollins Español, and HarperVia. Publishing books that appeal to readers across cultures, nations, languages and racial divides, the overall mission of HarperOne Group is to “publish for the world we want to live in.” Prior to joining HarperCollins, Curr founded Atria Books in 2002, overseeing its growth into a consistently successful and forward-thinking division. A native of Australia, Curr has been an executive in American publishing since 1996.
Gati Curtis
Born and raised in NJ, Gati is the daughter of Indian immigrants who spent her childhood balancing her Indian heritage and values with her American lifestyle and ideals. Since starting her career, she has focused on creating relationships with clients, partners and agencies to develop best-in-class marketing and communications. She has worked across a number of clients and categories including AT&T where we worked to elevate them from a phone company to a technology company and CVS Health, where they worked to transform them from a corner store to a health company. Currently Gati leads the Facebook Blue Global Team to help guide them through a challenging period as a brand, and future-proof them for the next phase of social media and connection. This past summer, she launched BBDO Good – a part of the agency dedicated to help everyone in the agency activate and leverage the resources at our disposal to do more good for more people. Her goal is to inspire and motivate everyone to use their skills and voice for good in their communities and beyond. Gati has three beautiful boys (2 human, one fur) and lives in Manhattan with her husband and family.
Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow has over 20 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit management. He is the Director of Foundation & Government Grants at The Trevor Project and former Senior Director of Institutional Giving at GLAAD. He is a former fiction editor at Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts & Letters and co-editor of “Shade: An Anthology of Short Fiction by Gay Men of African Descent.” His writing has appeared in the New York Times, “Speak My Name: Black Men on Masculinity and thAmerican Dream,” “Ancestral House: The Black Short Story in the Americas and Europe,” and “Imagining America: Stories from the Promised Land: A Multicultural Anthology of American Fiction.” He has a B.S. in Biology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. In 2007, he was a Revson Fellow for Mid-Career Civic Leaders at Columbia University.
Mustafa Topiwalla
Mustafa Topiwalla is Head of Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. He has over 15-years of experience in Finance and has covered a number of sectors over his career, including Healthcare, Media & Telecom, Consumer, and Industrials. Mustafa’s day-to-day job consists of covering clients and managing a team that delivers top quality ideas to and execution of financing solutions for corporate clients, which include mid-sized firms to Fortune 500 companies. Mustafa has been actively involved in Diversity and Inclusion by being a member of RBC’s US Diversity Leadership Council and an Executive Sponsor of the Multicultural Employee Alliance. Mustafa received an AB (honors) in Economics from Middlebury College and an MBA (honors) from Columbia Business School. He lives in New York City, with his wife Melissa Connor and daughters Layla and Yasmeen.
Cate Ambrose
Cate Ambrose is CEO and Board Member of EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets. Members include 300+ fund managers, institutional investors, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, and industry advisors who manage more than USD5 trillion in assets across 130 countries. Cate is a Steering Committee Member of the United Nations Institutional Investor Partnership for Sustainable Development (IIPSD) and on the Advisory Board of the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Indian startup Masala Baby and a Board Member for Girls Write Now, a non-profit that mentors underserved young women in New York City. Prior to joining EMPEA, Cate was President and Executive Director of LAVCA. Cate was also previously the Chief of Advocacy for the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, a United Nations initiative where she spearheaded the commission’s work on business regulation and property rights in Africa, MENA, Asia, and Latin America. Until 2005, Cate was Executive Director of Programs for The Economist Group. Cate speaks and writes regularly on a range of topics related to public policy and private investment in Latin America. She is a commentator on CNN En Español, Bloomberg, and Fox Business and a guest lecturer at The Wharton School. Cate holds an MPA in International Economic Policy from Columbia University and received her BA in Latin American studies from St. Lawrence University and the University of Madrid.
Lynda Pak
Lynda Pak is Senior Vice President, Technology Leader for Global Brands and Corporate Functions at Estee Lauder Companies (ELC). Since joining ELC in 2016, she has been passionate about helping business leaders make smart technology investment choices to shape and accelerate value creation. With over twenty years of technology strategy and operational experience, she has collaborated with executive leadership teams at ELC, Bed Bath and Beyond (BBB), Borders Group (BGI), and other leading companies in the consumer products/retail industry. Prior to ELC, as the Vice President of eCom/Digital and Marketing Technologies for BBB, she successfully led the redesign of the digital customer experience and their next generation digital and marketing capabilities. At BGI, she served as Chief Technology Officer and VP of Applications, and as VP of eCommerce Operations. Additionally, with over 19 years of consulting experience with Deloitte Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers, she has demonstrated commitment and success as an advisor to senior executive business partners to define and curate their strategic initiatives to drive business value. Lynda has led the delivery of very large, complex, and global ERP programs for key clients. Finally, Lynda built Deloitte Consulting’s global ‘Green IT’ practice to help clients reduce their technology carbon footprint.
Lavaille Lavette
Lavaille Lavette is a New York Times best-selling author/editor, educator, producer and social entrepreneur. She is the President & Publisher and Managing Partner at One Street Books, Lavette Books, and Ebony Media Publishing LLC. She often describes herself as a story hunter and story teller. Her latest publishing successes include Finding Me by Viola Davis (#1 New York Times Best Seller) and Shut Up and Listen by Tilman Fertitta (New York Times Best Seller). Lavaille recently return to writing in the children’s book space with four upcoming Little Golden books: Beyoncé: A Little Golden Book Biography (Jan. 3, 2022), Harry Belafonte: A Little Golden Biography (Jan. 3, 2022), Jayylen’s Juneteenth Surprise (May. 2, 2022), and Jayylen’s Juneteenth Surprise (Sept. 3, 2022) Lavaille is also the author of the best-selling children’s book series, Steve Harvey presents The Adventures of Roopster Roux and The Adventures of Roopster Roux sports series. The Roux series has received numerous accommodations from cities around the USA and the first ever convenience store/gas station with a literacy purpose based on the Roopster Roux series (The Roux) launched in Chicago Summer 2022, with additional locations planned for various cities throughout the USA. With a Master’s in Education, Lavaille has worked as an investment broker, school teacher, school district administrator, speechwriter, marketing executive and served as special advisor to former US Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige, (US Department of Education 2001 – 2005). She is a Founding Board Member and the first President of the Luanda Africa Sister City Association. Being of service to others is one of her greatest joys. Lavaille is a Casa Child Advocate court appointed volunteer, a mentor with The Hay center, often fundraises for foster care programs and she is involved in a number of international charitable ventures. Over the past 15 years Lavaille has used her branding, merchandising and sales expertise to manage a number of business ventures with well- known celebrities and athletes in the publishing, aviation, food, retail and sports industry. Beyond her work in publishing, community engagement, nonprofit and the marketing spheres, Lavaille is co-founder of Every Child An Author, (ECAA) Class-by-Class, School-by-School. ECAA is on a mission to make every child in America a published author, one grade level at a time! (everychildanauthor.com) In her leisure time, Lavaille enjoys skateboarding, cooking and spending time with her husband John, family and friends.
Stephanie Gordon
Stephanie Gordon is a Director in U.S. Public Finance, Corporate Banking at RBC Capital Markets. She is responsible for providing credit and structuring analysis for a broad range of balance sheet solutions that support capital improvement programs and infrastructure projects, primarily focused on the transportation, power & utilities, student loans, housing and prepaid gas sectors. Stephanie was previously in RBC’s Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Group underwriting acquisitions, project financings, leveraged transactions and general corporate purpose loans for large cap, small cap and private clients. Stephanie began her career in Bank of America’s credit training program where she worked as a Commercial Banking Underwriter covering diversified industries and ABL clients. Stephanie is active in many of RBC’s diversity initiatives with a focus on youth mentorship, outreach, and multi-cultural issues. She has been a mentor with Futures and Options and Big Brothers Big Sisters, volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House, and Council of Urban Professionals 2016 Fellow. Stephanie has 20 years of banking experience and graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and a citation in Spanish.
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.
Ellen Archer
Ellen Archer is President of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media. Archer drives the strategic growth and expansion of the Company’s consumer publishing business—home to iconic properties, brands and authors from Curious George to The Hobbit to CliffsNotes. An experienced leader in publishing, consumer brands and multimedia, Archer spent 15 years at The Disney ABC Television Group. For five years she was President and Publisher of Hyperion Books, then a division of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for building the company’s digital business, spearheading cross-platform initiatives, and releasing over 100 New York Times bestsellers. Most recently, Archer consulted for start- ups and non-profits, providing strategic advice in content development, marketing, and business planning. Archer holds a BA in English Literature from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. She served on the Foundation Board of New York Women in Communications and is a member of The Women’s Forum of New York and Golden Seeds, an early stage investment firm with a focus on women leaders. Archer is based primarily in HMH’s New York headquarters.
Honorary Board
Cazzie David
Author & Screenwriter
Abbi Jacobson
Comedian, Writer, Actress & Illustrator
Tayari Jones
Novelist & Girls Write Now Board Alum
Rupi Kaur
Poet, Author, Illustrator & Performer
Emma Straub
Novelist, Books are Magic Owner & Girls Write Now Mentor Alum
Cleo Wade
Artist, Poet, Activist & Author
Meet the Girls Write Now Honorary Board
Cazzie David
Cazzie David is the creator, writer, and star of the critically acclaimed web series Eighty-Sixed. She is a columnist at Graydon Carter’s Air Mail and has written for Vanity Fair, the Hollywood Reporter, Glamour, InStyle and Vogue. She is also the author of the New York Times Bestselling memoir No One Asked for This (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Photo Credit: Katie Mccurdy
Abbi Jacobson
Abbi Jacobson is an actor, writer and artist based in New York City. She is the Series Creator, Executive Producer and star of the critically-acclaimed show Broad City, premiering its fourth season this summer on Comedy Central. Upcoming, Jacobson will Executive Produce FX’s female-centric half-hour comedy pilot Meaty with Jessi Klein, and will star in the Netflix heroin drama 6 Balloons alongside Dave Franco. Jacobson is a New York Times-bestselling author of her illustrated book, Carry This Book, and has also released two coloring books: Color This Book: New York City and Color This Book: San Francisco.
Tayari Jones
New York Times best-selling author Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage. Published in 2018, An American Marriage is an Oprah’s Book Club Selection and also appeared on Barack Obama’s summer reading list as well as his year-end roundup. The novel was awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize), Aspen Words Prize and an NAACP Image Award. It has been published in two dozen countries. Jones, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, has also been a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, United States Artist Fellowship, NEA Fellowship, and Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship. Her third novel, Silver Sparrow, was added to the NEA Big Read Library of classics in 2016. Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She is an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University.
Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur is a poet, author, and performer. Her second book, the sun and her flowers—an instant global bestseller, is an artistic sibling to her debut, milk and honey—one of America’s bestselling books of 2017. milk and honey has sold over 5 million copies, been translated into more than 42 languages, and was on the New York Times Bestsellers List for over three years. Photo Credit: Nabil Shash
Emma Straub
Emma Straub is the New York Times-bestselling author of four novels—All Adults Here, The Vacationers, Modern Lovers, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures—and the short story collection Other People We Married. Her books have been published in more than 20 languages, and All Adults Here is currently in development as a television series. Emma and her husband own Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York.
Cleo Wade
Cleo Wade is a friend, community builder, and the author of the books, “Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life” and “Where to Begin: A small book your power to create big change.” She has been called the poet of her generation by Time Magazine and one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company. Cleo sits on the board of The Lower East Side Girls Club, the National Black Theatre in Harlem, the Women’s Prison Association. When Cleo is not at home in California with her partner, Simon Kinberg, and their daughter, Memphis, she can be found traveling around the country on her sold-out book tours, which have become a safe space to laugh, cry, hug, and offer support to fellow readers. Photo Credit: Rony Alwin
Girls Write Now Tech Committee
Shifali Bose
Digital Strategist
for Automotive, Adobe
Jacob Lewis
Consultant/Startup Advisor,
Double Black Consulting
Ashna Shah
Brand Strategist for a Diversity of Brands & Political Candidates
Anne Caceres-Gonzalez
Director, People and CultureMischief
Morgan Lin
GWN Lead Incubator Mentee;
Co-founder, Little League Coding
Alisha Stull
Partner Engineer,
Google
Lisa Chai
Founder & General Partner,
Interwoven Ventures
Sophia One
Girls Write Now Lead Incubator Mentee; Founder, One Letter 4 All initiative
Natalia Vargas-Caba
Technical Writer at Google
Felicia Dodge
Director of Analytics & Insights,
Monks
Lynda Pak
Girls Write Now Tech Committee Chair; CIO, Senior Vice President & Technology Leader of Brands and Corporate Functions, Estée Lauder
Monica Williams
SVP, Digital Products & Operations
Content Distribution, NBCUniversal
Rose Else-Mitchell
Teaching Fellow,
Harvard University Graduate School of Education
Dylan Reed
Senior Trader & Quant Specialist,
RBC Capital Markets
Meet the Girls Write Now Tech Committee
Shifali Bose
Tech Committee Member; Shifali Bose works at Adobe as a Digital Strategist for Automotive, working with senior leaders to identify digital gaps across the end-to-end customer experience and provide recommendations focused on the highest-value opportunities.
Anne Caceres-Gonzalez
Anne (AN-ee) Caceres-Gonzalez is a first generation Caribbean Latina, born in New York and raised in the Bronx, whose intersectional lived experience has led her to advocate and create space for traditionally underrepresented communities in the workplace. Anne’s experience in people work extends across performance management, coaching, recruitment and learning and development, through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, connecting people, and advocating personal + professional growth. The love Anne holds for her own identity and deep, profound respect she has for others’, are constantly working together to create a space where underrepresented groups feel safe and seen. Anne’s life ambition is to continue to center the voices of underrepresented people, as it’s key in order to decolonize and redefine those narratives. Anne is currently the Director of People and Culture at Mischief, a creative advertising agency in Brooklyn, NY and has previously held roles at other creative agencies like BBDO, 72andSunny and FCB. Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications with a minor in English from Baruch College, is a member and has served on the National Executive Board of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc, where she has mentored and empowered young women to find their voice.
Lisa Chai
Lisa Chai is the founder and general partner of Interwoven Ventures, leading the firm’s investment activities in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. Lisa and her team at Interwoven are investing in mobility, smart cities, digital health, and manufacturing sectors. Lisa has over two decades of investing experience in both public and private markets where she was a SVP and portfolio manager for Palisade Capital, TPG/Angelo Gordon and Credit Suisse Asset Management’s emerging growth funds. Lisa is a long-time supporter of Girls Write Now having been on the Advisory Council, Finance and Audit Committee, Treasurer and a member of the board. Lisa is currently on the Girls Write Now Technology Committee.
Felicia Dodge
Mentor Alum & Tech Committee Member; Felicia Dodge is currently living in the big city (New York) and chasing after even bigger dreams. She is fascinated by learning new things and has trouble staying in the same place for too long. Currently, she serves as the Director of Analytics & Insights at Monks and was previously part of the Audience Insights team at Twitter, leading custom research initiatives and developing data-backed strategies for brands in the sports & entertainment industries. She has spent the last 5 years in the tech industry, working with marketers to tell compelling stories with data.
Rose Else-Mitchell
Mentor Alum & Tech Committee Member; Rose Else-Mitchell leads the education business at Scholastic comprising all the company’s products and services in support of reading development and children’s social-emotional wellbeing created for prek-12 districts, schools, and direct to teachers. With a focus on meeting the highly diverse needs of all students, Education Solutions offers unparalleled literacy content, book collections, instruction, extended/ home learning, curricula and professional learning across print and digital formats. Education Solutions’ innovative, equitable, and effective materials which support children to learn to read and love to read serve over 90% of prek-12 institutions in the U.S. First joining Scholastic in 2000 as an instructional designer, Rose became Senior Vice-President, of Product Development for the EdTech business in 2008, developing READ 180 Next Generation, MATH 180 and System 44, which were sold to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) in 2015. She was later appointed Chief Learning Officer and EVP, Professional Learning, at HMH. Rose also serves as a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and chairs the Industry Council of the EdTech Evidence Exchange. Rose began her career in education as an ELA classroom teacher in Sydney, Australia.
Jacob Lewis
Jacob Lewis is the Co-Founder, Co-CEO, and President an Authorative. An experienced media executive, entrepreneur, and startup advisor, he has founded three companies across a range of industries, and has an extensive background in managing big and small teams—editorial, product, and technical staff—driving revenue and optimizing efficiencies. He has a demonstrated history of moving traditional companies into the digital sphere and is particularly skilled in digital strategy, content strategy, business development, product management, and operations. He has served as an advisor at Authorative, Holloway, Fletcher & Co, ReddyYeti, and Mic, and as a Managing Editor at Condé Nast.
Morgan Lin
Morgan Lin is a storyteller, social-impact-driven technology innovator, and interdisciplinary tinkerer with a purpose to amplify youth voices and promote digital literacy equity. An award-winning poet, her work explores human connection and intangible emotions, with pieces featured in Scholastic Art & Writing, Girls Write Now, Tiger Leaping Review, Noor Magazine, and Disney. In technology, Morgan channels her innovation into her app providing college resources and NightGuard, a device designed to enhance women’s safety during nighttime walks. She has contributed to projects through Google Code Next, NYU Tandon’s bioengineering lab, and NASA SEES climate research. Driven by her passion for bridging the digital divide, Morgan leads initiatives like Little League Coding, a nonprofit that introduces underserved youth to technology, GirlCon, an international conference empowering women in STEM, and the Public Knowledge AI Literacy Toolkit for K-12 schools. Morgan serves as one of 10 Youth Representatives at UNICEF USA, where she champions children’s rights in the digital realm and promotes mental health. Her efforts extend to policy, including contributing to statewide legislation to ban facial recognition in schools and combat algorithmic bias with Encode Justice. Morgan is a mentee participant in GWN’s Lead Incubator journey. Little League Coding (Morgan’s org)
Sophia One
Sophia One is a NYC high school student from the Bronx High School of Science who is also a Girls Write Now mentee and a member of GWN’s Lead Incubator. She is involved in many extracurriculars related to environmentalism, such as conducting social science research on climate policies, promoting climate action in government, and leading the Green Team at her school. Her other activities include volunteering at her local Queens Public Library, running an online vintage business, and participating in the National Honor Society. Sophia also has a strong interest in media studies and journalism, of which she hopes to continue in college. Besides her academic life, Sophia enjoys traveling the world, building legos, and watching Formula One races (a huge Ferrari fan!).
Lynda Pak
Lynda Pak is Senior Vice President, Technology Leader for Global Brands and Corporate Functions at Estee Lauder Companies (ELC). Since joining ELC in 2016, she has been passionate about helping business leaders make smart technology investment choices to shape and accelerate value creation. With over twenty years of technology strategy and operational experience, she has collaborated with executive leadership teams at ELC, Bed Bath and Beyond (BBB), Borders Group (BGI), and other leading companies in the consumer products/retail industry. Prior to ELC, as the Vice President of eCom/Digital and Marketing Technologies for BBB, she successfully led the redesign of the digital customer experience and their next generation digital and marketing capabilities. At BGI, she served as Chief Technology Officer and VP of Applications, and as VP of eCommerce Operations. Additionally, with over 19 years of consulting experience with Deloitte Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers, she has demonstrated commitment and success as an advisor to senior executive business partners to define and curate their strategic initiatives to drive business value. Lynda has led the delivery of very large, complex, and global ERP programs for key clients. Finally, Lynda built Deloitte Consulting’s global ‘Green IT’ practice to help clients reduce their technology carbon footprint.
Dylan Reed
Tech Committee Member; Dylan is a senior trader and quant specialist with the Program Trading group at RBC Capital Markets. Prior to his time at RBC, Dylan worked at Barclays Investment Bank. In professional and personal capacities Dylan volunteers with Hudson River Community Sailing, The LGBTQ+ Center, and Junior Achievement of NY. A DC native, he celebrates the diverse community and public education system that he grew up with, both of which he credits with his passion for learning and adventure.
Ashna Shah
Mentor Alum & Tech Committee Member; Ashna Shah is a brand strategist—helping brands and political candidates alike find and articulate their north stars. Having worked on campaigns for brands like H&M and Pepsi, and progressive candidates of color across the country, she’s honed her storytelling and narrative skills for maximum resonance and memorability, and has a deep respect for the power of the well-chosen word. As a mentor at Girls Write Now, she supports—and learns from—a talented mentee whose writing impresses and unveils unspoken truths.
Alisha Stull
Tech Committee Member; Alisha Stull is a Partner Engineer at Google, where she works with software companies that are hosted on Google Cloud on various Go-to-market initiatives. Prior to Google, Alisha worked at ServiceNow and SAP.
Natalia Vargas-Caba
From mentee in 2007 to technical writer at Google, Girls Write Now has supported Natalia from high school to college, through internships and applying to grad school, positioning her now at the intersection of human and computer languages, enabling her fluency in both poetry and code.
Monica Willams
Monica Williams is a forward-thinking, inclusive leader with a tremendous track record in building high performing teams, leveraging innovation and operational agility to deliver results. She has in-depth experience building programs, delivering on new products from ideation through execution. Throughout her career, Williams has drawn upon her classical business training, Six Sigma Black Belt, and entrepreneurial spirit to make an impact and navigate teams through change. Her scope of leadership spans general/P&L management as well as the end-to-end business value chain, including operations, manufacturing/production, supply chain/logistics, partnerships, sales/marketing, business development, technical production R&D and engineering, enterprise and direct-to-consumer solution delivery, and talent management. Currently, Williams is Senior Vice President, Digital Products & Operations, for NBCUniversal Content Distribution.
The Girls Write Now Ambassadors
Thank you to all of our previous Girls Write Now Circle Members, a select group of multigenerational leaders committed to amplifying diverse voices. Due to your commitment, critical funds from the Circle have constituted 84% of our individual giving, making it possible for Girls Write Now to mentor the next generation of writers and leaders—thank you for your deep investment.
In honor of our 25th anniversary, we are introducing The Girls Write Now Ambassadors, individuals who advance the mission of Girls Write Now with an annual commitment of $1,000 or more and receive exclusive benefits and access. Learn more about The Girls Write Now Ambassadors.
FOUNDERS | $250K+
Maja Kristin
Jane Lauder
TRAILBLAZERS | $100K+
Ann & Bob Hammer
LEADERS | $50K+
Ellen Archer & Jeffrey Gracer
Kate Stroup & Matthew Berger
INNOVATORS | $25K+
Helen Ghiradella
Raymond & Gloria Naftali Foundation
CHAMPIONS | $10K+
Judith Curr & Ken Kennedy
Amy & James Ramsey
James M. & Margaret V. Stine Foundation
Mustafa Topiwalla
Brent and Ann Wilson Family Foundation
SUPPORTERS | $5K+
Anonymous
Berger Family Foundation
Gati Curtis
Agnes Gund
Hack Juman Family
Forsyth Harmon
Carola Jain
Maya Nussbaum & Todd Pulerwitz
Zibby & Kyle Owens
Lynda Pak
Nicolas Rohatyn
Alina Roytberg
Susan & Sophie Sawyers
Jon Yaged
VICE CHAIRS | $2.5K+
Cate Ambrose
Rachel Bloom
Catherine Greenman & Richard D’Albert
Lyndsay Faye
Stephanie Gordon
Lavaille Lavette
Bruce Morrow
Kelly Murphy
Jean-Pierre Naegeli
Joe Rosenberg
Robin Thede
Marie & John Zimmermann Fund
PATRONS | $1K+
Marci Alboher & Jay Goldberg
Nisha Aoyama
Maria Aspan
Jennifer Burkinshaw
Jill Cohen
Rachel Cohen
Cohn Giving Fund
Cathy Deckelbaum
Anne B. Fritz & Libbie Thacker
Anna Gomez
Lynne Greene
Natalia Hollman
Janice Horowitz
Susan & Robert Koroshetz
Anna Kubicka
Shankar Kurra
Robert Levin
Jacob Lewis
Nancy Jane & Jeff Loewy
Brendan Lowe
EricMa
Molly Meloy & Jeff Fitts
Ted Oberwager
Lisa Paolella & Willard Cook
Linda C. Rose
Elaine Stuart-Shah & Nirav Shah
Lisa & Frank Wohl
Rebecca Wollensack
Girls Write Now Partners
GAMECHANGERS | $100K+
LEADERS | $75K+
VISIONARIES | $50K+
INNOVATORS | $25K+
CHAMPIONS | $10K+
CREATORS | $5K+
SUPPORTERS | $2.5K+
Foundation & Government
$75-100K+
The Hearst Foundation
New York City Council
STARS CityWide Girls Initiative
Pinkerton Foundation
$10-25K
Find Your Light Foundation
The Hyde & Watson Foundation
The Keith Haring Foundation
The Raymond and Gloria Naftali Foundation
The National Book Foundation
The Rona Jaffe Foundation
$35-50K
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund
Genesis Inspiration Foundation
Harman Family Foundation
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York State Council on the Arts
The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation
$1-6K
Stuart S. Applebaum Giving Foundation
Berger Family Foundation
Cohn Giving Fund
The Goldsmith Family Foundation
Damon A. Noller Community Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation
Xavier High School National Italian Honor Society
Marie and John Zimmermann Fund
become an ambassador
Girls Write Now Ambassadors provide girls, women, and gender-expansive writers of all ages with extraordinary opportunities to be heard, to be seen, and to create change across sectors.
BECOME A PARTNER
Together, let’s mentor the next generation to be creative, communicative and competitive candidates shaping the future of your company and industry.
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