Mia Alvar was born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Bahrain and New York City. She has been writing since her glue-and-crayon days. After graduating from Harvard with a BA in English Literature and Women's Studies, she spent two years teaching English, Social Studies, and French at a girls' middle school in Boston. She is currently pursuing her MFA degree in Writing at Columbia University and working on a collection of short stories.  She also teaches in the Undergraduate Writing Program at Columbia, and is a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. Her other interests include fashion, cooking, crafts, and travel.

Yamil Anglada was born and raised in Puerto Rico. While still a teenager she started keeping a journal and has been writing ever since. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from The University of Georgia. As a publicist for publishing companies such as Scholastic and St. Martin's Press, she has been in charge of writing promotional and press material for books, as well as working with local and national media on a daily basis.

Uju Asika is an editor at America Online's entertainment guide Digital City New York. Born in Nigeria and raised in England, she spent three years as an arts writer and content editor in London before moving to the U.S. to pursue an MA in journalism at NYU, graduating in December 2001. She has written film columns, celebrity profiles, cultural essays, and more for publications such as Salon.com, Africana, Pop & Politics, MAM, Touch, and Untold Magazines. Her poetry and memoir is published in anthologies including "IC3: The Penguin Anthology of New Black Writing in Britain" (2000). Spare time projects range from creating a women's t-shirt line to editing "Motherless Tongues," an anthology featuring writers who do not speak their native languages. She is also a contributing editor for a multicultural web site in development for the Arts Council of England.

Nellie Boucher is currently pursuing a PhD in Modern European History at Columbia University. In addition, she works as a Teacher's Assistant at both Columbia University and Barnard College, leading discussion sections and assisting students with writing assignments. Before beginning her graduate work, Nellie spent a year studying at Oxford University, taught English in Paris, France, and worked on an archaeological excavation in Pompeii, Italy.

Emily Brandt graduated from Boston University in May 2002, where she studied Psychology, English, and Women's Studies. While in college, she also worked for The Favorite Poem Project and for The Bridge Theatre Company as stage manager and costume designer. She has volunteered as a telephone family crisis counselor and as a board member of her university’s women's center. In March 2002, Emily founded and continues to maintain a project called Take Back the News, which counters the misrepresentation of sexual violence in the mainstream media. She is currently working as a NYC Teaching Fellow and living in Brooklyn.

Alexis Burling has always been a writer in spirit and is forever pushing herself to transform into a writer by profession. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Literature and Cultural Studies in 1998 and is thinking of going back to school for her masters/phD. During the day, she is a marketing coordinator/publicist at a major NY publisher and at night she freelances by promoting local NYC bands, two of which have just taken her on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle. Outside of writing, she enjoys reading epic novels, cooking, and eating lavish meals (despite her non-existent kitchen), traveling, playing scrabble, camping, and going to see live music.

Susan Burke grew up in Mendham, New Jersey and in 2000 graduated from Holy Cross in Massachusetts with a BA degree in English and Art History. After graduation, she started work at Simon and Schuster in the Children's Publishing division. She is currently an Assistant Editor and resides in Manhattan.

Jennifer Chen, Girls Write Now Events Director, graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with an M.F.A and B.F.A in Dramatic Writing. Recently, she won a Prism Generation Next Grand Prize fellowship for her TV spec script for "Will and Grace," sponsored by the Entertainment Industries Council. Her essay, "To My Favorite Baby Doctor," is currently published by Quills (a division of Harper Collins) in "Yell-oh Girls." Her plays have been produced at NYU and the New Jersey State Theater. Currently, she is involved with the YMCA's Flying Circus program, developing an arts workshop for children teaching diversity through arts. Jenn joined Girls Write Now in Fall, 2002.

After graduating from journalism school at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Katherine Dykstra left the Midwest for New York and the world of glossy consumer magazines. There she found work, first as a freelancer at Andy Warhol's Interview and then, full time, at Redbook, where she is now the Assistant Articles Editor. Her responsibilities include penning columns and features, all of which revolve around entertainment and lifestyle. She is currently trying to juggle her work at Redbook with a budding freelance career.

Margery Gordon, former Associate Executive Director of Girls Write Now, is a freelance journalist based in Manhattan. She writes features, news stories and investigative articles for national magazines such as Art & Auction and The American Lawyer, where she recently served as a staff reporter for several years. She has worked for a variety of print media outlets in New York, Florida, and Washington state, covering subjects ranging from independent filmmakers and fashion designers to human rights lawyers and cattle ranchers. Margery has been writing poems for more than a decade. As a member of Girls Write Now since 1999, she has developed and presented workshops on poetry, journalism, and literary techniques. She received her Masters from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1997, and her Bachelors in Communications and English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

Jacqueline Grace graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a B.E. in Electrical Engineering in 1999. Currently, she works for Merrill Lynch as a release manager in one of the firms' application development groups. For Jacqueline, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, writing was always has always been and remains one of her passions. Jackie's main focus is on fiction and she aspires to be a published novelist at some point in her life. Jackie joined Girls Write Now in the fall of 2002 because it combines two of her passions—writing and mentoring young women.

Anna Hall joined Girls Write Now in December 2002, after seeing a call for volunteers in the ArtsWire and jumping—semi-metaphorically—for joy. She has worked as a speechwriter, copywriter, editor, researcher and policy analyst. Her writing has been published in a number of small literary journals and other publications. She is currently at work on a short story collection and a volume of poetry. She was recently accepted as a NYC Teaching Fellow for high school English, and is looking forward to starting this new chapter in her life.

Tracy E. Hopkins is currently a music editor for Barnes & Noble.com. As a freelance writer she has written about music, entertainment, teen and women's issues for numerous publications and websites including Essence, Vibe, Seventeen, Alloy.com, The Source, Heart & Soul, and RollingStone.com. She has also been published in the Beacon Press anthology, "Testimony: Young African-Americans on Self Discovery and Black Identity." Tracy has a B.A. in Print Journalism from Howard University, where she was an editor for the School of Communications' newspaper (The Community News) and an entertainment reporter for the campus newspaper (The Hilltop). In 2002, Tracy joined Girls Write Now because she wanted to do hands-on work with teenage girls and help them to express themselves through writing.

Shannon Hughes,LMSW, Girls Write Now Program Director, has been with the organization since its inception in 1998. A Brooklyn native, she graduated from Barnard College in 1999, and received her Masters in Social Work in 2004 from New York University's Shirley Ehrenkranz School of Social Work. In the past she has worked with court involved juveniles and as a hotline volunteer for the Anti-Violence Project, and was involved in the pilot year of Girls Talk-NYC! as well as later serving as a training assistant for the leadership program. Currently she works as a volunteer coordinator for the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Service.

Elissa Klein was born in the Bronx and attended Penn State where she majored in Political Science and double-minored in Russian and Spanish language. During college she studied abroad in Spain and after graduating toured Western Europe. When she returned to New York, she began to work at the Social Science Research Council. Elissa has also been working on a novel, poetry, and short stories.

Carol Lee is a News Assistant at The New York Times. She also freelances for various magazines, newspapers and Web sites, such as City Limits, BUST, Newsday, and Women's Enews. For the past three months, she has conducted research for a nonfiction book about the history of American women, written by the editor of the Times editorial page. She worked for various news services and magazines while pursuing a Master's degree in journalism at New York University, which she completed in May 2002. Prior to her graduate studies, she received a Bachelor's degree in Women's Studies and Psychology. Currently, she is writing a biography of a female politician.

Emily Lo was an Assistant Editor at Hyperion Books for Children before heading to Columbia University for an MFA in writing. While in graduate school, she taught creative writing to undergrads, ESL to adults in Harlem, assisted with the school newspaper at the Bronx Academy of Letters, and received a fellowship to collaborate with National Book Award finalist John Phillip Santos. She has been working on a Cuban-Chinese family memoir and travelogue, and last summer was invited to Havana, Cuba to read at a conference about the Chinese living abroad.

Rose Meechan grew up in Long Island and after working in the healthcare field for several years, she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology's Interior Design program. She began work as an Interior Designer in 1997 with Goralnick Buchanan, a high-end residential Architecture and Interior Design firm with projects in and around New York City. She is currently writing a true crime book discussing a highly publicized double homicide, which occurred in the Midwest in 1988. She has recently appeared on WNBC-TV's "Today in New York" in a segment discussing her weight loss success after working with a nutritionist. She is currently being considered for a one-year term as Shape magazine's Weight Loss Diarist, which would be an ongoing chronicle of her progress. Rose lives in Manhattan.

Sally Montgomery is an account coordinator in the Text 100 New York office. She began her career with Text, a high technology public relations firm, in 2003,working out of the company's New York office on the IBM Data account. Prior to Text 100, Sally worked as an Account Executive for the Hamilton Group, and served as an intern for various organizations including the American Red Cross and Premier Productions.

Carolyn Murnick is a freelance writer living in Manhattan. Her essays and articles have appeared in "Before and After: Stories from New York" (W.W. Norton, 2002), SHOUT Magazine, Whet Magazine, The Chelsea Clinton News, and NewCity.com. She is an Associate Editor at Mr. Beller's Neighborhood.com, a webmagazine on New York City and Culture. She received a B.A. in Literature and Writing from Columbia University in 2001.

Sacha Phillip is an entertainment-industry professional, with a background in Literature. Her favorite literary genres include post-colonial novels, Greek dramas and Romantic-era poetry. She is an avid writer, focusing on poetry and short fiction.

Janine Poreba is a native New Yorker and an actress and playwright. She is also an assistant to Broadway producer and theater director Harold Prince. She has a B.A. in English from Harvard College, where she studied Theater and Russian. Janine has worked as an English teacher at The Tutoring School, Project Renewal, Portsmouth Abbey Summer School, and Anatolia College (in Thessaloniki, Greece).

Vanessa E. Raizberg is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago. While majoring in Political Science, she held internships at CNN in Chicago and wrote for the University of Chicago Chronicle. She now works for CNBC as a News Associate for Kudlow & Cramer, a Primetime economic and political news analysis show. Her future career aspirations include becoming a foreign correspondent or television political analyst where she hopes to better utilize her languages, which include fluency in Russian and competency in French.

Lucile Scott recently graduated from Northwestern University where she majored in Political Science and History. She moved to New York to pursue a career in fiction and magazine writing. In the past she has worked with Newcity Magazine in Chicago, Smart Growth America in Washington DC, and the UN World Food Program Chicago.

Caroline Smith is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at The New School, with a concentration in Writing for Children. In addition, she works as the Director of Marketing for a financial trade magazine and dabbles in freelance copywriting. She’s an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and recently published a Barnes & Noble Sparknote for The Red Tent. The majority of her writing consists of humorous or coming-of-age novels for kids ages 8-12. Caroline graduated from James Madison University in 1997 with a BA in English.

Sarah Talbot grew up in Massapequa, NY and graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a degree in Communications and concentration in Public Relations. She is currently a PR executive with Text 100, a global technology firm in Manhattan. She spends her days writing technology-focused materials and selling stories to members of the print and broadcast media, and her nights practicing yoga and writing fictional short stories. She now resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Elizabeth Thompson, Girls Write Now Communications Director, is a Manager at Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations firm based in Manhattan. She oversees communications and marketing activities for a variety of clients including corporations, media companies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Prior to Burson, she was at HarperCollins in San Francisco, where she worked with authors such as Sidney Poitier, David Crosby and Tim Berners-Lee (founder of the World Wide Web). Liz also has a background in film and journalism. She worked in production at American Zoetrope in San Francisco and as an Editorial Assistant at Utne Reader magazine. She graduated from Trinity College (CT) in 1997 with a BA in English: Creative Writing and a Minor in African Studies. Liz was born and raised in Minneapolis, but now calls Brooklyn home. She joined Girls Write Now as a mentor in Fall 2001.

Born in Brooklyn, Jennifer Tullo studied Fine Arts at New York University and received her M.BA in Marketing from Pace University. Three years ago, she decided to get back to her roots and move to beautiful Park Slope. She is currently the Director of Production for Donghia Textiles/Furniture. The company designs contemporary furniture and textiles. Their most notable installations include: the curtains and wallcovering at Radio City Music Hall, the counter seating at Tiffany's, and a new cosmetic chair for Neiman Marcus. Besides reading and writing, one of her favorite hobbies is sewing. She has been a member of Girls Write Now since 2003 and is Co-Chair of the Support and Recruitment Committee.

Jessica Valenti has been working for NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund since 2002 as Communications and Program Associate. She is also a teacher for The Princeton Review, a test-prep company, and a volunteer emergency room advocate for rape and domestic violence survivors at Mount Sinai Hospital's Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program. Before joining NOW Legal Defense, Jessica worked with various women's organizations including Planned Parenthood, Ms. Magazine, and the Women's Environment and Development Organization. Jessica has a Masters degree in Women's and Gender Studies from Rutgers University and a BA in English from SUNY Albany.

Aimee Walleston graduated in 1997 from Eugene Lang College, where she studied journalism, art criticism, and creative writing. For the past three years, she has been working at Jane Magazine, where she coordinates photo shoots and writes about fashion, art and culture. She also writes freelance pieces for clients including MTV and The Blow Up

Koren Zailckas is a recent graduate of Syracuse University where she studied Journalism and Creative Writing. She is a former fashion and entertainment writer for Tear Sheet Magazine and talentnetworks.com. She is the author of the memoir “Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood” which was published by Viking Penguin in late 2004.