Emily Rigby 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. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and, as a member of the Girls Write Now team for the past four years, has excitedly shared her passion for stories in all forms.

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.

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.

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.

Isabelle is an Engagement Manager at QuantumBlack (the Artificial Intelligence arm of McKinsey & Company) where she advises companies across the world on topics at the intersection of business and technology. Isabelle has a background in economics and computer science, and holds certifications in AWS, Scrum, DevOps, and more. She has also completed multiple international research efforts focused on the trends and societal effects of technology such as Cloud and Agentic AI. Isabelle is currently on the Girls Write Now Technology Committee.

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.

Angela works at a New York-based hedge fund as an investment analyst, focusing her time on technology companies and working with management teams to achieve better outcomes. She previously was an investor at Blackstone and was active in the company’s investments across edtech, media, and healthcare. Her interests lie at the intersection of technology and literature.

Katie Della Mora is a writer, producer and sketch comedian. Her work has appeared online, at festivals and onstage at UCB and Peoples Improv Theatre NY, Planet Ant in Detroit and more. She has performed Off-Off Broadway, at PIT NYC SketchFests, Quickie Film Fest, UCBT’s Sketch Cram, Del Close Marathon and many more. She’s written for four sketch comedy teams and the short comedic play she co-wrote appeared at UCBT NY in fall of 2019. She has also created content for national brands and digital platforms. She is proud to be a Girls Write Now mentor and enjoys teaching writing and acting.

Kayla Dudley, also known as KayTheePoet, is a poet, teaching artist, creative organizer, and founder of healotry, an initiative focused on healing through poetry, creative expression, and community. Kayla has been writing poetry since the age of 11, using her work to explore identity, belonging, love, healing, and the lived experiences of Black women and queer communities. She is a current mentee and also works with Girls Write Now, contributing to the organization’s mission of empowering young women and gender-expansive youth through writing, mentorship, and creative community. Her experience on both sides of the program has deepened her commitment to creating spaces where young people can develop their voices, build confidence, and recognize the power of their stories. Kayla holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Africana Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at The New School. Through poetry, education, and community organizing, she continues to use creativity as a tool for connection, empowerment, and healing.

Mariah Dwyer is a Girls Write Now mentee alum and a member co-chair of the Editorial Committee for the Print Anthology. She previously worked as a Publicist at Little, Brown and Company and Fortier Public Relations.

Gabriela Galvin is a health journalist based in Washington, D.C., whose work focuses on the relationship between policy and people. Her reporting has taken her across the country, including California’s Central Valley and the Texas-Mexico border, as well as rural communities in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Washington.

Fiona Hernandez graduated from college with her B.A. in Journalism. Ever since she was a child, she watched the Today show every morning with her family. That inspired her to go into journalism because she wanted to travel around the world and share other people’s stories. She loves to read, write, travel, and meditate. Her passion for journalism, communications, and public relations has shown her that storytelling is a powerful tool. She is excited to share her writing with all of you and create new stories!

Mentor Donna Hill is a multi-published author with more than 90 published titles to her credit. Three of her novels were adapted for television. Most recently, her novel Confessions is B-Flat is be adapted for the screen with Amblin Partners and Executive Producer Octavia Spencer. Donna has an MFA in Creative Writing and is currently an Assistant Professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.

A native Brooklynite, Kayah Hodge is a Digital Creator at Macmillan Publishers and member of the Girls Write Now Anthology Committee. The recent alumna of Hamilton College specialized in Creative Writing, honed her voice as a lover of literature, and was recently featured in Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism display. Outside of writing mixed genre material, Kayah enjoys spending time learning new recipes and cooking with love. Her favorite authors include Jacqueline Woodson, James Baldwin, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She particularly appreciates work that sheds light on immigrant experiences and the vastness of underrepresented cultures.

Becca James in an editor living in Astoria, Queens.

This is Lauren Kiel’s third year as a mentor with Girls Write Now. She works at Bloomberg Media, where she is general manager for Bloomberg Green, an editorial brand focused on climate news and analysis. Lauren enjoys reading and caring for her plants, and she looks forward to getting to travel again soon.

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.

Alejandre Lamas-Nemec is a Cuban-American poet and writer, and a member of Bryn Mawr College’s class of 2029.

Shawn is a Seattle-based writer finishing an MFA in Fiction and Screenwriting at Antioch University Los Angeles. He has spent more than twenty years in technical support and holds a BA in Psychology. He is a first-time mentor with Girls Write Now who hopes to inspire and encourage young writers to “just write”. In his personal life, he’s obsessed with queer web comics and novels, a dog dad and a husband.

Allison Su (she/her) is a NYC-based early career sustainability professional, writer, and musician. She is a graduate of Barnard College, where she studied Sustainability and Psychology. She is involved with various climate organizations, such as the Climate Mental Health Network and Climate Psychology Alliance. She writes in a variety of formats, including essays, poems, scripts, and songs. She has been a mentee with Girls Write Now since 2023.

Olivia is a high school senior from New York, and this is her second year as a Girls Write Now mentee. She is a mentee in the Lead Community Incubator Journey and is also a new member on the Girls Write Now Intersectional Voices Teach Committee. As she applies to colleges, she hopes to double-major in International Relations and Philosophy and minor in English. Olivia has developed multiple passion projects that emphasize action through change including the development of a sustainable menstrual pad by using invasive plant species, founding a non-profit that redistributes books to book deserts, and producing a film series called “The Lessons They Carried” interviewing strangers to speak about their greatest life lessons to promote connection through conversation. She is thrilled to enhance mentorship within the GWN community by applying her skills, experience, and networking ability. 

Dr. Amanda Wiles lives in Oklahoma with her family. She enjoys reading and writing, but not arithmetic. She’s a thirties-something mom with a great husband, two adopted kiddos, and a whole host of crazy things going on. When she decided to start self-publishing her fiction and non-fiction works, her heroic husband started Heroes Rise Publishing to support her. In addition to writing, she runs an HR consulting firm called The Human Element, drawing on her decade plus experience in human resources across various industries.

Crystal Worrell (she/her/hers) is a poet and Learning Specialist working in NYC. She’s also professionally trained in Dance and absolutely loves poetry and content creation. She has been a recipient of the Lucille Clifton Award, was a participant as a Lannan Fellow and self published her first volume of poetry in 2020 during her graduate studies at NYU.