Naomi Ayala

Naomi Ayala assumed the position of 826DC’s Founding Executive Director in August 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a senior writer/editor for a media organization, where she steered the development of a municipal pandemic preparedness toolkit for the Latin American and Caribbean regions. As a veteran teacher, community organizer, and manager, Naomi has been responsible for the development, design, and administration of innovative education programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities that have earned her recognition from institutions as far-reaching as the United States Congress. An award winning poet, she is the author of This Side of Early (Curbstone, 2009) and Wild Animals on the Moon (Curbstone, 1997). Her third book of poetry is forthcoming from Bilingual Review Press next year.

Joe Callahan

Joe Callahan joined 826DC in June 2010 as Deputy Director. Prior to this, he worked as a writing professor at both American University and the George Washington University. In addition to teaching, he has worked and consulted for a wide range of non-profit organizations, including public policy institutions, museums, and a renowned literary magazine. Joe received his BA in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and in 2008 received his MA in Writing with a focus in nonfiction from Johns Hopkins University.

Mike Scalise

Mike Scalise's work with 826DC began in 2008 when the organization was known as the Capitol Letters Writing Center. As a volunteer then, Mike served as the school coordinator and managing editor of our first anthology, The Way We See It. Mike has taught at universities, worked at publishing houses, and written for magazines and websites. His writing has received scholarships, fellowships and awards from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, George Mason University, and the Southampton Writers' Conference. In 2009, Mike served as the Philip Roth Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University.

Kira Wisniewski

Raised on Florida sunshine, Kira Wisniewski is a proud co-founder of the Capitol Letters Writing Center (the organization that helped give birth to 826DC). She currently serves as 826DC’s Volunteer Coordinator. Kira’s work has appeared in the Miami New Times, The Miami Herald, Alternative Press Magazine, Punk Planet Magazine, and various Web publications. She’s worked on a US/Canadian metal tour, curated art shows and has a pet bunny named Billie Jean. After working for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, she is now the Operations Manager at the National Women’s Studies Association.

Erin Jayes, Outreach & Operations Assistant

Erin started working with 826DC in her senior year at Woodrow Wilson High School. She taught workshops at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Northwest Washington, helped apply for the "Do Something" Grant, wrote an essay about 826DC for an essay contest to attend the Inauguration (and won!), and participated in fundraising activities in Columbia Heights. She is an incoming sophomore at New College of Florida as a (tentative) Literature major. Erin likes walking her dog and whistling on the way to the Metro.

Jennifer Kwon, Editorial & Programs Assistant

Jen is a rising senior majoring in creative writing, with a minor in film studies, at Bucknell University. She plans on moving to San Francisco or New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a fiction writer after graduation. She enjoys caramel macchiatos, reading under covers, rain when the sun is still shining, and car rides with the music turned up.

Jane Whalen, Development Assistant

Jane is a rising senior at Cornell University. She loves to travel and just returned from a semester abroad in Paris. This summer, much of Jane’s spare time will be spent training for the Philadelphia Half-Marathon.

Holly Jones

Holly Jones serves as president of the board and CEO. She is a graduate of Smith College and Stanford University . She writes the "Dispatches from the Anacostia" column for McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Other articles about the District have appeared in the Hill Rag and East of the River newspapers. She works as a national director at Jones Lang LaSalle and has served in the roles of president and vice-president of chapters for the non-profit industry organization, CoreNet Global.

Matthew Klam

Matthew Klam is a visiting Associate Professor at Stony Brook Southampton, and the author of Sam The Cat, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable Book. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and a Whiting Writer's Award, and is a GQ Magazine Correspondent.

E. Ethelbert Miller

E. Ethelbert Miller is board chair of the Institute for Policy Studies and the director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University. His most recent book is The 5th Inning, a memoir published by Busboys and Poets.

Joe Peters

Joe Peters has been a part of Capitol Letters since its inception, and currently serves as the Treasurer for the organization. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and Georgetown University and has worked as an analyst and project manager for both the private and public sector. He currently runs a startup venture called Public Performance Systems and has volunteered in tutoring and education projects in the District since moving here in 2003.

Marcela Sanchez

One of Washington 's most prominent journalists following Latin American and Latino affairs, Marcela Sánchez writes a weekly column, available in English and Spanish via The New York Times Syndicate. For more than ten years, Sanchez worked at The Washington Post where she also did daily reports for the local Univision newscast.

Susan Shreve

Susan Shreve is the author of fourteen novels, most recently A Student of Living Things (Viking), a memoir, and Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR’s Polio Haven (Houghton Mifflin 2007). She has written twenty-nine books for children, with her next being The Lovely Shoes (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic.) Susan is also the editor or co-editor of five anthologies, including Dream Me Home Safely. She founded the Master of Fine Arts Degree at George Mason University where she is a Professor of English, and is former President and present Co-Chairman of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Susan has received numerous awards; among them, a Guggenheim Award for Fiction, a National Endowment for the Arts grant for Fiction, and the Service award from Poets and Writers. She has taught in the MFA programs at Columbia School of the Arts and Princeton University.

Andrea Timko Weiswasser

In 1979, Ms. Weiswasser joined the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering where she practiced law as an associate until 1985, as a partner until 1995, and as counsel until 2000. Her practice focused on regulatory matters, particularly in the areas of communications and environmental law. Since her retirement from the practice of law, Ms. Weiswasser has been actively involved in non-profit board service. From 1993-2005, she served on the Boards of Trustees of The National Child Research Center; Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School; The D.C. Humanities Council; The National Poison Control Center; The Washington Chamber Symphony; and The Appleseed Foundation. Ms. Weiswasser is currently a member of the Boards of Trustees of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and The Levine School of Music.