Introducing our Senior Community Outreach Coordinator
iemi Hernandez-Kim is a Girls Write Now mentee alumna from 2003-2006. She’s excited to be an employee of an organization that brought her so many opportunities over a decade ago. She graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and worked in advertising with brands such as Carol’s Daughter and Tiffany’s. She’s a member of the Children’s Media Association. She loves Blue’s Clues, Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars, and Pocoyo.
Before joining Girls Write Now, you experienced the program up close as a mentee. What is it about Girls Write Now that resonates with you? And why did you return/what do you hope to give back and learn in your new staff roles?
I was 14 years old when I went to my first Girls Write Now workshop. The old location was in Union Square. Modern windows and zig-zag layout. I ate hummus for the first time ever. The mentor who told me about Girls Write Now had a tattoo of a circle on her wrist. The second mentor to talk to me wore a black and white jumpsuit that flared at the bottom. I was awkward and they stood with their shoulders leaned back.
I remember the atmosphere that I was introduced to more than anything. Girls Write Now provided me with a scholarship to Columbia University’s summer program. I went to an HBO reading of the Def Poetry Jam. I read my work out loud to literally hundreds of people at major venues.
More than 10 years later and I’m back —28 years old and a pretty decent adult.
Before this I was working in advertising as an editor/animator. I am passionate about young adult TV and writing. Working with curriculum is very new to me so I’m learning a lot. I hope to build upon all my new and old skills.
What experience can you share with us from your time in the program?
Whenever I look at the mentees I see so much of myself in them. It brings me back to that age. I’ve already had a lot of experiences in the short time I’ve been on staff but that teenage nostalgia is what I enjoy the most.
Who are your mentors and what have they taught you?
I think my older brother is my latest mentor. He rollerblades and has a dog. Really chill guy. So he tells me to chill out a lot. However he doesn’t walk around with rose-colored glasses. I like that about him.
What was the last book you read that you’d love to see incorporated into the Girls Write Now curriculum?
PreSchool Clues by Angela C Santomero. Angela is the creator of my favorite show, Blue’s Clues. I got my copy signed by her because Blue’s Clues is amazing.
Any last thoughts that you want to share with the community?
Well…I’m a proud member of the LGBTQIA community. Right before I came out, I thought that the only thing that was going to change would be my dating life. I was wrong. Everything changed. Even my socks felt different. I never thought that falling in love with how delightfully queer I am would be the one thing to ground my feet. Fighting for one’s safety and identity has a tendency to unearth unshakable confidence. I believe self assurance is vital to everyone in every walk of life — especially to teenage girls who usually lack it. This is just how I got mine. I hope I can bring a sense of calm security to the mentees at Girls Write Now and beyond.
For 25 years, Girls Write Now has been breaking down barriers of gender, race, age and poverty to mentor the…
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