Board of Directors

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS COMPOSED OF CHANGEMAKERS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN’S LITERACY.

  • Board Co-Chair: Joan Lipitz

    Founder, Joan C. Lipitz, Esq., LLC

    Dedicated New Yorker

    Francophile

    Connector of people and ideas

  • Board Co-Chair: Adam Steinhaus

    Head of Business Development, Americas at SimCorp

    Entrepreneur

    Avid Reader

    Parent of a Cosmic Writer

  • Michael Correy

    Lead, Boston Consulting Group

    Poet

    Artist

    Muppets Superfan

  • Miraque Hicks

    Lover of Words & Great Stories

    New Yorker at Heart, Philly by Choice

    Big Dreamer, Bigger Doer

    Reader, Writer, Creator

  • Joan Jocson-Singh

    Director of Library, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

    Librarian & Archivist

    Metal Music & Motherhood Scholar

  • Catherine Keane

    Mom

    New Yorker

    Writer & Reader

    Business Development Leader

  • Rowana Miller

    Founder & Executive Director, Cosmic Writers

    YA Author

    Urban Fantasy Enthusiast

  • Brian White

    Founder, Howdy NYC


    Brand and Marketing Consultant

    Reader & Writer

    New Dad

OUR Emeritus Board is composed of founding team members who have made an everlasting impact on writing education.

  • Al Filreis

    Kelly Professor, University of Pennsylvania

    Faculty Director, Kelly Writers House

    Director, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing (CPCW)

  • Manoj Simha

    President’s Engagement Prize Winner ‘22, University of Pennsylvania

    Founding Finance Director, Cosmic Writers

    Investment Analyst

OUR ADVISORY BOARD IS COMPOSED OF EXPERTS IN THE WRITING, EDUCATION, AND NONPROFIT SPACES.

  • Advisory Chair: Jamie-Lee Josselyn

    Associate Director for Recruitment & Instructor, Creative Writing Program, University of Pennsylvania

    Director, Summer Workshop for Young Writers at the Kelly Writers House

  • Richard Carter, Ed.D.

    K–12 and University Educator

    Educational Equity Consultant

  • Lynn Clark

    Seasoned Nonprofit Leader

    Executive Director, New York Junior League

    Strategic Fund Developer

  • Ashley Codner

    Founding Instructor, Cosmic Writers

    PhD candidate, Rutgers University

  • Gineyda Diaz

    Director of Strategy and Impact, LEAP

    Artist

    Nonprofit Impact Leader 

    Traveler

  • John Gamba

    Entrepreneur in Residence & Director of Innovative Programs, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

    Career Education Entrepreneur

  • Jerry Jacobs, PhD

    Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

    Founding President, Work and Family Researchers Network

  • Ian McCormack

    Founding Instructor, Cosmic Writers

    Law Student, George Washington University

  • Rae Pagliarulo

    Associate Editor, Hippocampus Magazine

    Co-author, Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction (2021)

    Nonprofit Strategy Consultant

  • Lauren Green Shafer

    Retired English Teacher

    Academic Advisor

    Passionate Editor and Writer

    Bird and People Watcher

  • Nancy Xu

    Founding Instructor, Cosmic Writers

    PhD Candidate, University of Chicago

  • Tiffany Yau

    Founder, Fulphil

    Co-Founder, Project SHIELDS

    Entepreneur