Andrea Louie, Liate Stehlik, and Elizabeth Toledo
join the leadership of nation’s leading literary nonprofit
New York, NY—November 28, 2022—Poets & Writers, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization serving creative writers, today announced the election of Andrea Louie, Liate Stehlik, and Elizabeth Toledo to its Board of Directors. The board also elected new officers: Willys Kals as president, Paul Vidich as treasurer, and Janet McCarthy Grimm as secretary.
“Andrea Louie, Liate Stehlik, and Elizabeth Toledo bring deep experience in the nonprofit sector, publishing, and communications, and they share a dedication to writers and writing,” said Ms. Kals. “I’m delighted to welcome them and look forward to working with them on behalf of writers nationwide.”
Poets & Writers’ executive director, Melissa Ford Gradel, added: “With Willys Kals’ leadership and the addition of three dynamic, accomplished new members, we’re building an ever stronger, more diverse board to champion writers and advance our mission.”
Andrea Louie is secretary at the Nassau County Department of Health. She was previously the executive director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, leading arts advocacy and cultural equity for New York City’s diverse, pan-Asian, multidisciplinary cultural community. She is the author of a novel, Moon Cakes (Ballantine Books) and coeditor of an anthology, Topography of War: Asian American Essays (The Asian American Writers’ Workshop). Louie was appointed by Governo Cuomo to the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Commission on National and Community Service; in addition, she serves on the boards of SMU DataArts, New Yorkers for Culture & Arts, and Bellevue Literary Press.
Liate Stehlik is president and publisher of the Morrow Group, overseeing the publishing operations for William Morrow, Mariner, Harvest, Avon, Dey Street and Harper Voyager. She joined HarperCollins in 2005 as publisher of Avon Books. Prior to joining HarperCollins, she was associate publisher at Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Stehlik is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and has an M.A. from New York University’s Gallatin Division. She is a member of the board for the NYU/Gallatin Publishing Program.
Elizabeth Toledo is the president of Camino Public Relations, helping nonprofit organizations use communications strategies to promote social justice. She is the co-founder of the Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI) and former vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, advocating for accessible healthcare services. With over twenty years of leadership in grassroots advocacy, she has supported nonprofit organizations in promoting equity through media. Toledo is a prominent national speaker, being previously featured on CNN’s Anderson Cooper, NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio, Air America, and more. She is chair of the board for the Rewire News Group.
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Poets & Writers is the primary source of information, support, and guidance for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the United States. Our mission is to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.
Poets & Writers Magazine is the leading publication of its kind, reaching a readership of 125,000. Our website offers extensive free resources to help writers navigate the literary marketplace and a lively online community. Our programs include Readings & Workshops, which pays writers for giving readings and leading writing workshops in small towns and big cities across the country; Mapping the Maze, an online workshop that demystifies the publishing process and helps writers chart a path to publication; and Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for debut authors. We sponsor the Jackson Poetry Prize and Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. We are guided by our core values of service, inclusivity, integrity, and excellence and are committed to becoming an antiracist organization. Learn more at pw.org.
Contact:
Rachel Schuder
Director of Development & Marketing
rschuder@pw.org