Girls Write Now
Andrea Ambam, Community Fellow
Elizabeth Baribeau, Senior Grant Writer
Ariah Dow, Community Manager
Kelsey LePage, Development & Operations Associate
Molly MacDermot, Director of Special Initiatives
Natalie McGuire, Controller
Tatiana Mena Ramos, Fellow
Maya Nussbaum, Founder & Executive Director
Lisbett Rodriguez, Community Coordinator
Erica Silberman, Director of Curriculum & Engagement
Richelle Szypulski, Public Events & Content Manager
Natalia Vargas-Caba, Fellow
Maya Nussbaum has grown Girls Write Now over the last two decades from a loose association of women writers into a dynamic, volunteer-powered community, and a nonprofit after school program distinguished by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as one of the top 15 in the nation, by the Nonprofit Excellence Awards as one of New York’s top 10 nonprofits, by Time Out New York as one of the best places to volunteer, and by Youth INC with the Innovators Award for improving the lives of New York youth. Maya has been named one of the Top 40 Feminists under 40 by The Feminist Press, one of the Top 20 Philanthropists under 40 by The Observer, a Local Hero by Metro New York, an Education Hero by The New York Times, a Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) People’s Voice Nominee, and a 2016 White House Champion of Change.
Molly MacDermot found the teen years hard until she discovered books and a diary, which she wrote in daily. She thanks Charlotte Brönte and Harper Lee for paving the way. Molly served as Editor-in-Chief of five national magazines, including J-14, the #1 teen entertainment magazine in the US. She conceptualized and managed several teen websites and their social media components. Molly is a regular columnist, consults as a media strategist and has written five young adult books. Molly was featured in The New York Times, Adweek, Mediaweek, and Folio, and has appeared on MTV, Vh1, Inside Edition and several morning television shows to talk about pop culture and the youth market. Molly started her career at The New Yorker, and previously worked at Marie Claire (Australia) and Redbook.
Erica Silberman fell in love with Girls Write Now when she group-taught a playwriting workshop for them in 2005. Through the years, she has stayed involved with the organization as a mentor, a teacher in various outreach programs, and a member of both the Program Advisory Committee and the Host Committee. Erica has an extensive and wide-ranging background in the theatre as an actress, playwright, director, teacher, acting coach, and producer, as well as experience in the design world. She formerly served as co-president of the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition and on the board of the League of Professional Theatre Women. Erica is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Dramatic Question Theatre, where she runs a monthly literary and music salon.
Lisbett Rodriguez is a Girls Write Now mentee alumna and a Brooklyn College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English. While an undergraduate, she contributed to making two publications of the Brooklyn College literary magazine, The Junction. She has previously worked with two women’s organizations, Legal Momentum and the Brooklyn College Women’s Center, to help and empower women.
Ariah Dow joins Girls Write Now after graduating with her Masters of Public Administration specializing in Management and Leadership for Public and Nonprofit Organizations from New York University. She is excited to apply her coursework to a cause she is extremely passionate about. Ariah worked as an administrator at New York University and with high school students prior. She feels fortunate to combine her work and educational experience to serve Girls Write Now constituents.
Elizabeth Baribeau specializes in arts fundraising, seeking out projects at the intersection of creativity and social justice that support writers, artists, and art institutions in their roles as cultural leaders. Before transitioning into the nonprofit sector, Elizabeth was a campaign consultant for EMILY’s List and The Office of Susie Tompkins Buell, supporting women running for public office. In 2011, she co-organized the “Women Who Frame the World: A Symposium on Creativity” at ODC Dance in San Francisco, featuring Anna Halprin, Beverly Pepper, Tina Packer, Liz Lerman and Kamala Harris. She has worked with international artists and organizations across creative mediums, and previously served as the Associate Director and Head of Institutional Development at Swiss Institute, New York.
After four years as a volunteer photographer for Girls Write Now, Richelle Szypulski is thrilled to join the team and to combine her passions for storytelling and inspiring creative confidence in young women. A journalism graduate of Point Park University and NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute, she has worked with various forms of print and multimedia content in marketing and publishing, 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.
Andrea Ambam is a politically-engaged theatre artist who believes in the arts potential for movement-building and transformative justice. As an actress and playwright, Andrea feels most at home in spaces where art and advocacy pulsate. She holds a Master’s degree in Art and Public Policy from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and her current work involves solo performance, racial injustice, ethnography, and verbatim theatre. Andrea is a 2020 EmergeNYC Fellow at the Hemispheric Institute and a 10-time national champion in public speaking and dramatic performance where she received the award of “Top Speaker in the Nation” three times.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Tatiana Mena Ramos is a multimedia creator who uses mediums such as videography, photography, graphic design, illustration, and writing to amplify voices through storytelling. Before moving to NYC to complete her Master’s degree in Arts Politics at NYU, she worked with non-profits such as Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción and National Hispanic Institute to empower youth through leadership. Tatiana is also a freelance writer for BELatina: a Latinx platform focused on shifting narratives and compelling readers to reach outwards towards activism. Taking on assignments on sustainability and politics, she’s had the opportunity of highlighting community leaders and political candidates striving to make transformational change in their communities.