Tag: Manhattan

Amalia Oliva Rojas

Instructor Amalia Oliva Rojas (she/her/ella) is a Mexican poet, performer, and theater artivist based in Nueva York. Her work centers and archives the stories, myths, and legends told by her family, her community, and fellow immigrant women. She is a proud alumnus of the Vassar College Powerhouse Theater Apprentice Program and CUNY Lehman College. Residencies…
Amy Dupcak

Instructor Amy Dupcak is the author of Dust, Short Stories (2016) and co-editor and designer of Words After Dark: A Lyrics, Lit & Liquor Anthology (2020). After studying Creative Writing and Film History at Sarah Lawrence, she earned an MFA in Fiction from The New School. She has worked as a music and culture journalist,…
Ashley Parker

Administrative Associate and Assistant Instructor Ashley started her journey with Writopia Lab in 2024 as a WriCampia camp counselor and is thrilled to be joining workshops this fall at the Park Slope location! After graduating from Florida State University in 2022 with a Bachelors in Editing, Writing, and Media (Magna Cum Laude), Ashley moved to…
Carly Polistina

Instructor Carly Polistina is thrilled to be a member of the Writopia Lab team as a creative writing and language play instructor! She is a playwright, screenwriter, stand-up comedian, and actor. Her play Annies and Kleptos premiered at 13th Street Repertory Theatre in 2019, and her play Nosebleed: a “comedy”… had its first full run…
Celine Aenlle-Rocha

Instructor
Daniel Ajl Kitrosser

Instructor Artistic Director of Writopia Plays Festival Playwriting and Screenwriting Specialist Dan Kitrosser has been teaching year-round at Writopia Lab since 2007. He teaches musical theater, playwriting, language play, and fiction workshops, and also produces and directs Writopia Lab’s annual Best Playwrights’ Festival. Dan is the resident storyteller at Central Park and an award-winning playwright.…
Ella Davidson

Instructor Ella Davidson is happily beginning her journey as an instructor at Writopia Lab in New York City. She is a playwright, actor and director from Albany, New York, currently residing in Brooklyn. Ella studied Drama and Dramatic writing at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where several of her plays were…
Eric Moore

Instructor Eric joined Writopia Labs as a Creative Writing instructor in March 2026. He is a playwright and stage director originally from Dallas, TX. His plays have been presented around the United States and in South Korea. This includes his full-length play, THE DEBASERS, which was produced at the University of Houston under the guidance…
Gauri Awasthi

Instructor Gauri is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab! Born and raised in India, she received her MFA in Creative writing in 2021. She has won fellowships from Yaddo, Hambidge Center, Hedgebrook, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Djerassi Artist Residency, and Sundress Academy for The Arts. Her writing has been published in Best New Poets 2023,…
Harrison Prak

Communication and Education Coordinator Harrison first joined Writopia Lab as a volunteer mentor in Writopia Lab’s Write-to-Recognition (W2R) program. Before finding Writopia, he started his career as a web developer, making websites and creating marketing campaigns for large companies, but he then decided to make a career change to become an educator and help create…
Holli Harms

Instructor Holli is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab in New York City as a part-time instructor. She is a writer of plays, screenplays, and short stories and recently graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with her Master’s in Creative Writing. As a playwright, Holli has been awarded the Terrence G. Hall Fellowship, a Dramatist…
Imani Parker

Specialty Programs Coordinator Imani Parker first joined Writopia as a WriCampia counselor in 2019, where she assisted Léna Roy in a creative writing workshop, co-led a dance elective, made meaningful friendships with her fellow counselors, and more. She holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts and a BA in…
Jane Young

Instructor Jane Young began teaching Writopia Lab workshops in 2019. Her plays have been seen in over a dozen Off- and Off Off-Broadway venues in New York, and her short film, “River,” was screened in international festivals in New York City, Toronto, Brazil, and Houston. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence…
Jem Werner

Registration Associate Jem is a former student of Writopia Lab’s creative writing workshops and is incredibly excited to rejoin the Writopia family as a registration associate. Jem is a graduate of Ithaca College, where he studied writing and theater. Inspired by Writopia Lab, Jem founded a student theater group at Ithaca College that focused on…
Jessica Lipaz

Instructor Jess is an educator and creative who is energized to join the Writopia Lab team as a writing instructor! Originally from Los Angeles, Jess moved to New York City in 2021 to earn her MA in Philosophy and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Throughout her degree, she dedicated herself to merging real life…
Kaley Mamo

Instructor Writopia Lab has been a part of Kaley’s life since she was eleven years old and joined her first workshop. Now she’s an instructor and she’s so happy to be back! After receiving her BA in Film and Media Studies at Columbia University (Summa Cum Laude), Kaley went on to earn her MFA in…
Kara Bilello

Instructor Kara Bilello is thrilled to be joining the team at Writopia Lab as a creative writing and debate instructor! As a Korean-American adoptee and an upstate New York native, she is passionate about writing as a means to connect to one’s most authentic voice. She holds two Bachelor’s of Arts from Binghamton University in…
Katarina LaPoll

Instructor Katarina La Poll is delighted to join Writopia Lab! Katarina studied theater arts and dance at UC Santa Cruz and creative writing at NYU. She has received support from the Community of Writers and Columbia University where she holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Poetry. Katarina has ghostwritten memoirs and autobiographies for leading voices…
Kendra Jones

Instructor Kendra is a Creative Writing and College Essay Instructor at Writopia Lab, where she offers support and guidance in diverse genres and forms of writing. She is inspired by the energy and imagination of young writers and is thrilled to watch them discover and develop their own unique voices. In 2021, Kendra completed her…
Kohi Kalandrova

Data and IT Coordinator Kohi Kalandarova is very excited to be joining Writopia Lab as Part Time Data and IT Coordinator where she is looking forward to supporting the center with tech and data management. Kohi graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Computer Science with hopes of ethically contributing to the world through…
Maddison Whitfield

Administrative Associate & Assistant Instructor Maddison Whitfield started in Writopia Lab’s creative writing programs in the early 2010s. After graduating from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Filmmaking, Maddison worked on a variety of projects from commercials to 360 VR shoots, short films, MTV TV shows, music videos,…
Madeline Stevens

Instructor Madeline Stevens has taught writing to adults and children for over ten years! At Writopia Lab, she leads creative and essay writing as well as graphic novel workshops. Madeline holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Portland State University and an MFA from Columbia University. Her first novel was published by Ecco Press in…
Malcolm Knowles

Associate Director of Specialty Programs Creative Writing and Songwriting Instructor Malcolm Knowles has been part of the Writopia Lab team since 2018. He is a writer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Houston, Texas, where he learned to record and release music during his teenage years. He later attended Sarah Lawrence College with a focus in Jazz…
Matthew Jellison

Director of Education, WriCampia Co-Director Instructor Matthew Jellison is over the moon to be serving as Senior Manager of Education at Writopia Lab. He began as a creative writing instructor in summer of 2017 and since has had the privilege of working on writing with some extraordinary kids. Matthew is playwright, actor, educator, and native…
Noah Parnes

Instructor Noah is over the moon to join the Writopia team! A recent graduate of Yale University, Noah is a playwright and drag artist based in New York. As a lover of storytelling in all forms, he can’t wait to help young writers find their voices. Noah’s plays have been produced at the Ethical Culture…
Noah Wilson

Instructor Noah Wilson is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab in New York City as a writing instructor. He is currently an MFA candidate at Rutgers University-Newark, where he also teaches creative writing and literature classes. His short stories have appeared in Beyond Words, Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, and the anthology, Ten Ways the Animals Will Save Us, from Retreat…
Rachel Aronson

Associate Director of Program Operations Rachel Aronson is thrilled to join Writopia Lab as the Enrollment Manager. Rachel brings a decade of experience educating and managing operations for education programs. Before coming to Writopia, Rachel organized field trips to the world’s largest landfill, taught elementary schoolers how to build robots, and managed a sustainability certification…
Rebecca Wallace-Segall

Chief Executive OfficerFounder Rebecca founded Writopia Lab in April 2007, and currently directs the national organization. You can read the founding story in The Village Voice. She designed the organization’s mission and no-barriers sliding scale model, as well as its instructional approach, which has been embraced by thousands of children, teens, schools, and nonprofit partners…
Reuben Sack

Instructor
Ricardo Vázquez

Instructor Ricardo Vázquez is excited to be joining the Writopia team as an instructor. He is a New York-based actor and writer who enjoys collaborating on films, plays, musicals, and new works. He recently appeared in the Tony-nominated 2024 Broadway revival of Our Town directed by Kenny Leon. He was also part of the original…
Samantha French

Instructor
Samantha Schnell

Instructor Samantha Schnell has been teaching workshops at Writopia Lab since 2023. Sam is a writer from New York City whose work has appeared in Witness Magazine, Sonora Review, Blue Earth Review, The Marrow, Atlanta Review, Eclectica Magazine, and elsewhere. She has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University, but these days she mostly…
Samantha Stone

Instructor Samantha Stone began with Writopia Lab as a JLA volunteer in 2016 and has taught creative writing and essay workshops since the summer of 2017. In the Fall of 2019 she joined the administrative team part-time, helping with registration, and is delighted to work more closely with the team. Samantha is a New York…
Tammy Scozzafava

Part Time HR & Payroll Associate Tammy Scozzafava is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab as the Part Time HR & Payroll Associate. Her varied professional experience spans the industries of arts/entertainment, media, and nonprofit organizations, with a focus on operations and human resources. Highlights of her career have been serving as an NBC Page;…
Tom Storch

Instructor Tom Storch has been a creative writing and essay instructor at Writopia since 2023. He was born in Denver, Colorado and lives in Queens, New York. He has a BFA in Creative Writing from CUNY Brooklyn College and an MFA from The Writer’s Foundry at St. Joseph’s University, where he taught composition courses and…
Yael Schick

Executive Director Yael has been a member of the Writopia Lab team since 2011. As the Executive Director, she oversees programs nationally and supports all instructors and workshops at Writopia’s Upper West Side lab. Yael’s favorite role at Writopia is that of instructor; she works with writers of all ages in all genres, including college…