2023-2024 Community Studio Facilitators
Community Studios are monthly, seminar-style workshops that cover a wide range of topics from AI-assisted creativity to collaging. Meet the mentors, mentees, and staff who led the Studios in the 2023-2024 Girls Write Now Collaboratory.
Environmental Journalism
Mentor
Ellen Airhart
Ellen Airhart covers emergency preparedness and cleaning for Wirecutter, the consumer product branch of the New York Times. She also writes a DIY home gardening column for Popular Science and a podcast called Plant Crimes.
Poetry in Motion
Mentee
Asma Al-Masyabi
Asma Al-Masyabi is a free-verse poet and visual artist based in Colorado, who occasionally delves into flash fiction. She is currently pursuing her Associates in English with a concentration in creative writing. Her two biggest passions are crafting the written word and art and she wants to pursue a life-long career where she can do both. She’s dreaming big dreams, reading good books, while simultaneously baking chocolate chip cookies. When not experimenting in the kitchen, you can find her reading all the comics she can get her hands on and watching the next big hit her mom found on TV.
Editing: Practicing Writing
Mentee
Shayla Astudillo
Shayla Astudillo was born in New York City; at a year old they moved to Illinois. In Illinois, they found their love for the arts and multiple life lessons. Coming back to New York City was difficult, but they adapted. They are currently attending high school in Manhattan, NY with their friends. They have dealt with mental illness in their life, which is a strong factor in their writing. They continue their journey with optimism. Their life goal is to spread love to everyone they meet. They hope you can connect to their writing and find your safe place to call home.
Memoir: Tracing Your Memories
Co-facilitated by Mentee and Mentor
Fiona Hernandez
Fiona Hernandez graduated from college last year 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!
Leonora LaPeter Anton
Leonora LaPeter Anton is a Girls Write Now mentor.
Graphic Novels and Visual Storytelling
Mentor
Kristy Cunningham Bigler
Kristy Cunningham Bigler is the author and illustrator of the multiverse fantasy web comic, Infinite Spiral and a UX and Product Designer. She lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter where they catch and release spiders from their home and go on library adventures. She creates magical, curious stories and experiences for children, teenagers, and adults and enjoys encouraging aspiring creators who want to craft imaginative worlds of their own. When not writing, drawing or designing for humans Kristy can be found reading, gardening or visiting her childhood paracosm.
Where Colors Do The Talking
Mentor
Danielle M Chery
Danielle M Chery is the author of the children’s book Peers, Cheers and Volunteers, a realistic fiction that focuses on the value of volunteering and having compassion for others. In addition to writing her own children’s book, she has experience freelancing as a ghostwriter. Danielle currently teaches English as a second language to adults in Brooklyn, NY, and also spends time growing her small business as an artist designing home decor. This is Danielle’s second year as a Girls Write Now 360 Mentor.
Poetry: Exploring Emotion Through Performance Poetry
Co-facilitated by Mentee and Mentor
Olivia Wronski
Olivia Wronski is a hopeless romantic, growing up surrounded by the romance genre in books and movies. As an artist, they find ways to express themselves through creative outlets like art and dance. She is an environmental activist, working to change the way we treat our earth, starting with her immediate family and local neighborhood. They are also a queer activist, pushing for rights for all. As a side note, she is a twin sister and is very interested in understanding the phenomenon of twins.
Louise Ling Edwards
Louise Ling Edwards is an essayist and poet originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. She has also lived in rural China in Shanxi Province and currently lives in Columbus, Ohio where she received her MFA from The Ohio State University. She was awarded the 2022 Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant from the Ohioana Library Association and have been nominated for a 2024 Pushcart Prize. Her work can be found in Ninth Letter and Smartish Pace.
Voice of Change: Speech Writing & Public Speaking for Advocacy
Co-facilitated by Mentee and Mentor
Chloe Lee
Chloe Lee (she/her) is a junior at Scarsdale High School interested in creative writing, psychology, public policy, history and is a second-year mentee at GWN. As a mentee, she enjoys exploring different genres of writing and media, including poetry, personal essays, short stories, flash fiction, and podcasting while also spreading her love for public speaking by leading her community studio. Outside of GWN, Chloe is involved in the nonprofits Dear Asian Youth and Bring Change to Mind, advocating for racial justice and destigmatizing mental health. She is also Captain of her school’s speech and debate team, president of her school’s Students Against Violence Club, Creative Director for her school’s newspaper, and a volunteer at her local library. In her free time, she loves to play piano, partake in competitive speech, write creatively, listen to music, bake, and run her Instagram food blog. She is a huge Swiftie and Gilmore Girls fan!
Kara Gelber
Kara Gelber is the Senior Director of Communications at Morning Consult, where she leads content promotion for Morning Consult’s data-driven analysis and reporting, positioning the company as an authority across brands, the economy and geopolitics.Kara previously worked for Day One Agency, PRovoke Media’s 2020 Creative Agency of the Year, where she crafted and executed content promotion strategies for clients including American Express, Facebook and Abercrombie & Fitch. In this role she collaborated with internal and external partners to ensure integration across digital, social and influencer channels, while developing proactive storytelling opportunities to insert said clients into the news cycle.Prior to Day One Agency, Kara launched her career at the integrated communications agency Cohn & Wolfe (now BCW) where she hosted press trips, planned interactive launch events and drafted press materials for clients including Hennessy (LVMH), Three Olives Vodka, Colgate and Newell Brands.Offline, Kara serves as a mentor for Girls Write Now, a nationally-recognized nonprofit helping underserved young women find their voices through the power of writing and community.Kara graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication & Rhetoric. She is based in New York City.
Sparking Ideas Through Prompt Writing
Co-facilitated by Mentee and Mentor
Nicole Itkin
Nicole Itkin is a high school junior in New York. She loves acting and writing, possibly because both allow her to fling words together in an attempt to tell a story and to tell it well. When she isn’t staring at something with writing on it (whether it’s her own notebook, a published novel or a play), she is most likely thinking about new ways to incorporate tofu in her diet, learning other languages or traveling.
Holli Harms
Holli Harms is a Writopialab Instructor and guest lecturer at School of Visual Arts Film Deparment. She is member of Ensemble Studio Theater and Dramatist Guild. Running and travel are her passions.
The Astrology of the Writer Within
Mentor
Melanie Horton
Melanie Horton is a mentor alum at Girls Write Now.
Fashion Writing 101
Mentor
Faran A. Krentcil
Faran Krentcil is a writer and editor in New York City. She is currently the editorial director of Wild Elements and a contributing editor at ELLE; she also writes feature pieces for Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, and W Magazine. Faran is the founding editor of Fashionista.com; she also writes plays and draws sparkles.
Cringe! How to Write About Yourself Without Paralyzing Fear
Mentor
Heather O'Donovan
Heather O’Donovan is a mentor alum.
Fiction: Adventures of Storytelling
Mentee
Chiamaka Okafor
Chiamaka Okafor is a first year University student born in Canada to Nigerian parents, but grew up and lives in New York. All her life, she considers herself to be a multi passionate person, with a strong passion for reading and writing. She enjoys the genres of fantasy, sci-fi, and nonfiction. Chiamaka loves writing stories in her free time, when she is not reading, watching TV., or studying (of course 😉 ). She also enjoys drawing, painting, and doing digital art. Chiamaka loves learning languages, and promoting Equity.
Memoir: Stories That Shape Us
Mentor
Melody Rose Serra
Melody’s passion is teaching and empowering others by sharing what she has learned. She helped launch an arts and crafts program at a children's hospital and also taught at San Quentin State Prison. Melody hopes to inspire youth to explore and expand their creativity through web development, writing, and art.
Writing & AI: Trading Fear for a Creative Renaissance
Mentor
Ashna Shah
Ashna 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.
Passion, Purpose, Profit: From Idea to Enterprise
Mentor
Ashley Sowers
Ashley is the founder of Words + Well LLC, specializing in content marketing for wellness oriented brands. She is also a freelance writer with over 7 years of marketing and project management experience specifically in health care delivery and related contexts. Ashley is committed to growing the wellness space, by making it more accessible to people of color.
Cultivate Creative Compassion with Yoga
Mentor
Richelle Szypulski
After several years of volunteering as a photographer, Richelle Szypulski is thrilled to share her love of storytelling and strategy in service of the Girls Write Now mission. A journalism graduate of Point Park University and NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute, she has worked in marketing and editorial—most recently as a digital editor at Travel + Leisure. Outside of work, you’ll often find her frequenting yoga, dance and meditation studios around the city, rehearsing for community theater productions or missing her subway stop yet again thanks to a too-enthralling audiobook.
Nonfiction: Telling Truths
Mentor
Priscilla Thomas
Priscilla Thomas (she/her) is a desi writer and editor. Her writing has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes and has appeared in The Margins @AAWW, Salty, Insider, and various anthologies. She taught high school English and undergraduate and graduate English Education for 16 years in New York, and she loved helping students realize how many powerful, unique, and resonant stories they had to tell. She works with writers on creative nonfiction and memoir and runs Write On, a creative community for writers and artists. Learn more at wordsbypriscilla.com or @wordsbypriscilla on Instagram.
Beating Writer’s Block with Astrology
Mentor
Kiki Tom
Kiki T. is a writer, columnist and author that is born and bred in NYC. Driven by curiosity, Kiki has written about every subject under the sun, including: fashion, movies, music, art, history, etc. However, her claim to fame comes from editing a website for teen girls (Planet Kiki—a SXSW Winner!) and astrology—the basis of her two books: Angst: Teen Verses From The Edge and The Celestial Sexpot’s Handbook. Kiki’s resume also includes columns and articles for: Teen Vogue, NY Post Page Six Magazine, JANE, Girlfriend (Australian Teen Mag), Scarlet UK, Lifetimetv, TheFrisky.com, Astrology.com, etc.Media appearances include webseries LookTV.com and LifetimeTV.com and appearances on Tyra, Mike and Juliet show & NBC’s The Daily Connection.
Open Your Heart Here: Generative Poetry
Mentor
Ann van Buren
Every voice has a place in poetry! Ann van Buren leads generative writing workshops in person and on Zoom and offers insights to contemporary poetry through interviews with writers for Katonah Poetry Series, Plume, The Rumpus, and other journals. Her poems have been published in periodicals including The Westchester Review, The Columbia Review, and on annvanburen.com. Much of her work is in response to visual art and performed in conjunction with music, most recently at The Hudson River Museum. For Ann, working with Girls Write Now has been inspiring, both in her role as mentor and community facilitator. She is so glad to be part of the community!
Elements of Fiction
Mentor
Meredith Westgate
Meredith Westgate (she/her) grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School. Her debut novel, The Shimmering State, was published by Atria / Simon & Schuster in August 2021, with the paperback forthcoming August 2022.The Shimmering State, which USA Today calls “a dreamy and dazzling first novel” and Booklist names “a poignant, quietly romantic debut” has been recommended in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the WSJ. It received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly (“a captivating story”), and was a Belletrist book of the month pick and TeaTime Pictures Top Five Lit.
Rediscovering Writing Through Nonfiction
Mentee
Shelley Yang
Shelley Yang is a passionate high school junior studying social science in NYC. She enjoys exploring the city, accumulating large amounts of unfinished pieces of writing (working on it!) and listening to music. Shelley aims to better herself, her community and the world around her through writing. When she’s not attempting to page through thick, used books, Shelley translates the endeavors of daily city life into her ongoing writing journey.
A Novel Approach for Young Adult Fiction
Mentor
Amy Zhang
Amy Zhang is the author of FALLING INTO PLACE, THIS IS WHERE THE WORLD ENDS, and THE CARTOGRAPHERS. She lives in Seattle, WA.
Staff Community Studio Facilitators
Before The Marker Snaps: The Feature-Length Screenplay
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.
Inviting the Muses: Writing Poetry in Community
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.
Multimedia Journalism and Social Justice Storytelling
Intersectional Voices in Editorial Committee: Accessibility of Stories
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.
Romanticize Your Life Through Collage
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.
Journaling: An Exploration of the Unconscious
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.
Writing for the Web
Print Anthology: The Making of a Book
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.
Open Writing and Creating
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.
Committee Studio Facilitators
NextGen Philanthropy: The Story Changes
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.
Print Anthology: The Making of a Book
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.
Intersectional Voices in Editorial Committee: Accessibility of Stories
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.
Get in on the fun with The Girls Write Now 2024 Anthology: Here & Now, which contains a prompt from every studio we ran this year in the 2023-2024 Collaboratory! Coming soon from Dutton on June 18.
Check out Some Resources from Our Teaching Artists!
Uncover the Magic of Poetry & Plants with Melania Luisa Marte
Join two-time national Audie Award winner Melania Luisa Marte as she explores the magic of poetry and plants.
Defend Reproductive Rights with Merle Hoffman
Learn why writing from experience and empathy are such powerful tools in fighting for reproductive rights with activist and author Merle Hoffman.
Write Hope At the End of A World with Ross Gay
Learn how language can help us imagine and embody new worlds with author Ross Gay.
2023-2024 Teaching Artists
Every year, Girls Write Now provides programming for mentors, mentees, our staff, and the public covering everything from College and Career Chats with industry professionals to Friday Night Salons with groundbreaking artists. We are radically grateful for our Teaching Artists from the 2023-2024 Collaboratory.
Azia Armstead
Olivia Arnold
María Barrios Vélez
Alex Budak
Maile Carpenter
Noni Carter
Christina Cazanave-McCarthy
Christiamilda Correa
Stephen Czaja
Anaïs DerSimonian
Kathryn Destin
Jen Elmashni
Sally Familia
Ylonda Gault
Ross Gay
Nicole Glover
Colleen Hamilton
Neil Hammer
Merle Hoffman
Kylie Holloway
Arianna Huffington
Jessica Jagtiani
Elise Jayakar
Ollie Jayakar
Melania Luisa Marte
Michael Mejias
Emi Nietfield
Erin O’Connor
Lama Rod Owens
Zibby Owens
Morgan Parker
Kristie Raines
Traven Rice
Sheena Daree Romero
Jasmine Rosario
Andrea Salas
Pepita Sandwich
Mara Santilli
Liz Sgroi
Jill Stoddard
Nehanda Thom
Katie Wargo
Danielle Whyte
Thank You to the Staff Who Led Our Learning Journeys!
Fiction 360 & Nonfiction 360
Margery Hannah
Margery Hannah is a seasoned K-12 English instructor with extensive experience in program development and management within the nonprofit sector. Her work has primarily focused on women’s empowerment, employment retention, career development, and financial literacy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English, Literature, and Ethnic Studies from Wichita State University, where she received multiple scholarships and earned departmental honors. Margery also holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Stony Brook University and an MA in Aging Studies from Wichita State University. As a proud McNair Scholar alumna, her scholarly research explored the psychological impact of American slavery on contemporary Foundational Black Americans, leading to the implementation of financial literacy course requirements for Kansas high school graduates. A passionate writer, Margery has spent years as a ghostwriter and is the Founder and Publisher of the online magazineThe Literary Purveyor.
Lead 360
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.
Poetry 360
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.
colleen hamilton
Colleen Hamilton is a facilitator at Girls Write Now.
Print 360
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.
Script 360
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.