Staff

Lauren Artiles (she/they) is the Director of Events and Center Experience at GrubStreet. In this role, she oversees the management of the Center for Creative Writing, both creatively and operationally; supervises GrubStreet's Stage and Events team; and works to cultivate a warm, welcoming third place where every writer feels at home and empowered at each stage of their artistic journey. She is an experienced arts administrator and events planner whose previous roles include Stage Manager at GrubStreet and Assistant Events Manager at Harvard Book Store. Lauren received her MFA in Writing from the CalArts School of Critical Studies, a BA in English and Creative Writing from Muhlenberg College, and is an alum of GrubStreet's Short Story Incubator program, currently at work on her own short fiction. Outside of work, her greatest pleasures include freaky little novellas, cooking elaborate meals for loved ones, horror movies, and tending to both her real garden and her garden of carefully curated playlists.

Jada (she/they) is the Senior Manager for Adult Programs at GrubStreet. Jada manages the Adult Programs team, and oversees the multi-week class life cycle: scheduling the multi-week classes and supporting instructors while they are teaching multi-week classes. Jada attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a BFA in Illustration, Print Media, and Soft Sculpture in 2021. She is also a practicing artist, currently working in children's books as both illustrator and author, with representation by The Tugeau 2 Art and Literary Agency. Jada loves doing anything creative; drawing, painting, building things etc. She loves hunting and studying mushrooms in her free time as well as cooking and seeing live music, particularly EDM.

Under Eve’s (she/her/hers) leadership, GrubStreet has grown into a national literary powerhouse known for artistic excellence, working to democratize the publishing pipeline and program innovation. An active partner to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Eve was the driving force behind securing chapter 91 space in the Seaport to build a creative writing center. Eve was recently awarded the 2023 WNBA Award by the Woman's National Book Association, an award given every two years to a living American woman who has made exceptional contributions to the book industry beyond the scope of her profession. She is a 2019 Barr Fellow, and having graduated from its inaugural class, Eve remains active with the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, a consortium of 200 of the world’s top cultural leaders, which addresses the critical issues that face the arts and cultural sector worldwide. Eve has presented on the future of publishing, what it takes to build a literary arts center, and the intersection of arts and civics at numerous local and national conferences. Her essays and op-eds on publishing, the role of creative writing centers and the importance of the narrative arts have appeared in The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Cognoscenti, Writer's Digest and TinHouse. Eve serves on the Advisory Board of The Loop Lab, a new Cambridge-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing representation in the Media Arts and on the Advisory Board of Getting to We, a nonprofit dedicated to civic rights and social action. Eve worked as a literary agent at The Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency (now Aevitas Creatve Management) for five happy years where she developed, edited, and sold a wide variety of books to major publishers. Before starting GrubStreet, she attended Boston University’s Writing program on a teaching fellowship, farmed in Oregon, and ran an international bookstore in Prague.

Christopher Castellani founded the Muse and Marketplace Conference and continues to advise on the design, structure and programming of the conference in collaboration with the Muse team.   Christopher is the author of four novels, including All This Talk of Love (2013) — a New York Times Editors' Choice — A Kiss from Maddalena (2003)— winner of the Massachusetts Book Award — and The Saint of Lost Things (2005), a BookSense (IndieBound) Notable Book. His book of essays on the craft of fiction, The Art of Perspective: Who Tells the Story, was published by Graywolf in 2016. His most recent novel, Leading Men, for which he received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, was published in February 2019. Leading Men has been optioned for film by Peter Spears and Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) with a screenplay adaptation by Matthew Lopez (The Inheritance). Christopher is on the faculty of the Warren Wilson College Low-Residency MFA program and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. He is also the Chair of the Writing Panel for the National YoungArts Foundation. In 2015, he was awarded the Barnes and Noble/Poets & Writers "Writer for Writers" Award in recognition of his contributions to the literary community and his generosity toward fellow writers.   Christopher was educated at Swarthmore College, received his Masters in English Literature from Tufts University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Boston University. For the 2022-2023 academic year, he will be the Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University. He lives in Boston and Provincetown.

Ning (he/him) is the Operations Assistant at GrubStreet and is currently pursuing a BA in Media Arts Production at Emerson College. His interests lie in animation and video game development, and he has a great passion for comic books and graphic novels. In his free time, he enjoys drawing, writing, analyzing niche media, and reading Greek and Shakespearean plays.

Melissa Close (she/her) is an Operations Assistant at GrubStreet. Melissa graduated from Emerson College in 2018, where she studied writing, literature & publishing. She has a professional background in academic publishing and administration. Outside of work, she is an avid reader, writer, and baker.

Alexis Dearborn (she/her) serves as GrubStreet's Finance Manager. She has over 15 years experience in the nonprofit arts sector, with a focus on operations and finance. Previously, she has served as Director of Operations & Programs at the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, General Manager of New Repertory Theatre, and held various positions at Huntington Theatre Company and Imagination Stage (Bethesda, MD). She holds a dual BA in Psychology and Linguistics from Dartmouth College and a MS in Arts Administration from Boston University and is originally from Santa Monica, CA. In her free time, she enjoys playing board games, seeing plays, studying languages, watching figure skating, and cuddling up with her pup, a good book, and a hot cup of coffee.

Florann "Flo" Estiler (she/her/hers) is the Senior Marketing Coordinator at GrubStreet. She supports the Director of Marketing & Communications in the promotion of departmental campaigns and events, including social media, email, print, and the web. She has a strong background in social media management, content creation, and online advertisement. She holds a BA in Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College. Prior to joining the team, Flo had the opportunity to work in the beauty, tech, and music industries, where she developed a passion for photography, videography, and writing. During her free time, Flo enjoys watching K-dramas, reading horror novels, and knitting.

Lev Friedland (they/them/theirs) is GrubStreet’s Operations Associate. They received an MFA in Creative Writing and a graduate certificate in Jewish Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. Lev is a 2021 Somerville Arts Council Literature Fellow, a finalist for the 2021 Chautauqua Janus Prize, and the winner of Redivider’s 2019 Blurred Genre contest. They consider themself an experimental writer, a performance artist, and a queer science fabulist. When not writing, Lev is thinking about how they probably should be writing.

Travon (he/him/his) coached track and field at the DI and DIII levels while simultaneously teaching English Composition 101 and 102 after being named NCAA DIII Scholar Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. He has read for The McNeese Review and Persona Literary Journal, and was a panelist for the South Central Modern Language Association Conference in 2018. Travon's writing has appeared in Persona and Five2One magazine, while also earning him a finalist spot for Redivider’s Blurred Genre Contest in 2017. He has facilitated several symposiums regarding cross-cultural conversations and celebrations of race in the English classroom and was a member of the NESCAC Coaches of Color Association while working for Amherst College.   Travon currently serves GrubStreet's community as the Interim Manager of Youth Programs. In this role, the former DIII National Champion has combined his passions for writing, teamwork, and mentorship to make way for young writers by using their feedback to foster community partnerships, plan guest author events, and design programs that better reflect their interests. Travon earned an M.F.A. in Poetry and an M.A. in Literature from McNeese State University, while also holding a B.A. in English with extensive studies done in Secondary Education and Ethnic and Gender Studies from Westfield State University. Travon also holds certificates for BEST Youth Worker Training and Youth Mental Health First Aid, and is a 2023 INP Community Fellow.

(she/her/hers) As the Program Manager of the Boston Writers of Color Group, she oversees programming, engage with members through media outlets and monthly BWOC newsletter, and provide opportunities and guidance to self-identifying writers of color. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she has held administrative, marketing and retail positions---beginning in the literary space as the Poetry Editor Intern at Salamander Magazine. As a poet, she has performed at Boston Poetry Marathon, HUBWeek, and Literary Death Match. Serina holds a BA in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing and minor in Black Studies from Suffolk University. When she's not writing poetry, she's either writing on her blog, The Rina Collective, or creating artwork with her calligraphy. 

Julian Iralu (she/her) is GrubStreet’s Individual Giving Officer. In this role, Julian helps to make sure that GrubStreet has the resources to keep providing exciting classes and programs that meet the needs of writers and readers at all levels, while supporting writers’ development and helping them share that work locally and with the world. Julian first joined the Grubbie community as a 2020 GrubStreet Emerging Writer Fellow. Julian previously served as Leadership Gift Officer at Mount Auburn Hospital (BILH) and as Development and Grants Associate at Boston Modern Orchestra Project. A classical trumpeter with a masters in music performance from Boston University, Julian founded Transformative Brass, an ensemble dedicated to interdisciplinary performances that fuse classical brass instrumental performance with live singing drag.

Eson Kim (she/her) serves as the Director of Community Engagement at GrubStreet, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. Her stories have appeared in Calyx Journal, Denver Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, among others. She received a Writing Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and earned the David B. Saunders Award for creative nonfiction. She was also named to the Notable list of Best American Essays. She's appeared on Radio Boston's Summer Reads series and Stories from the Stage (WGBH). She loves any opportunity to talk about books for all ages, preferably while sipping on a tall glass of bubble tea.

Alex (he/him) is GrubStreet's Finance & HR Associate. He graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2012, where he earned a B.F.A. in Film & TV Production with a focus in Animation. He made a career in educational children's programming, and was fortunate to work on characters, props and backgrounds for such award-winning shows as Peg + Cat (PBS), Click Clack Moo (Amazon Prime) and Clifford the Big Red Dog (Scholastic). He continued to explore other interests, and has gone on to work in carpentry, immersive theater, and hospitality. Prior to joining the Grub team, Alex worked for Hostelling International, a venerable non-profit dedicated to promoting cross-cultural experiences and making travel accessible for all. In his free time, Alex enjoys surfing, impromptu road trips, craft beer, schlocky horror movies, and working on his graphic novel.

Mariona Lloreta (she/her) is GrubStreet's Associate Director for Individual Giving. In this role, Mariona helps to make sure that GrubStreet has the resources to keep providing exciting classes and programs that meet the needs of writers and readers at all levels, while supporting writers’ development and helping them share that work locally and with the world. As an interdisciplinary artist and producer, Mariona has dedicated her career to empowering fellow artists and cultivating equity through her work. For over a decade, she has collaborated with community members, local businesses, arts leaders and institutions in countries including the United States, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria and Spain, in order to gather the necessary resources to bring an array of narrative, documentary and experimental films to life. Through her work as an instructor at GrubStreet and Emerson College, Mariona has raised funds to provide scholarships to motivated, under-resourced students to help close the gap in the entertainment sector. Whether it is by teaching screenwriting to adults and teens or leading award-winning productions that battle the danger of a single story, Mariona is committed to honoring historically underrepresented communities in any project she is involved in. Born and raised in Barcelona, she holds an MBA from National University and a Bachelors in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Barcelona, Spain.

Lauren (she/her/hers) is the Development Coordinator for Operations at Grubstreet. Before Grubstreet, she interned for the Interdependence Hexagon Project based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Penn State University in May of 2022 with a BS in Global and International Studies with minors in Middle East Studies, Political Science, and Sociology. During her time in college, she was a member of Sigma Omicron Pi and Penn State’s Filipino Student Association. She is an avid reader and enjoys reading romance and mystery novels in her free time. Outside of work, she enjoys working out, trying new recipes, and traveling. 

Laura McCormick (she/her) serves as the Human Resources Manager for GrubStreet. Laura attended Bradley University where she studied Psychology and has previously worked with organizations that focused on equitable access to healthcare. She is passionate about collaboration and continuous improvement, progressive policy development, and creating a warm and welcoming culture for her fellow Grubbies. Outside of work, she enjoys reading satirical fiction, listening to WBUR, petting cats, and watching horror films.

Leila Meglio (she/her) is Muse Conference Director. A born and raised Somervillian, Leila is passionate about stewarding a local (and beyond) literary community that welcomes a multitude of diverse perspectives and uplifts new voices. She began working in the books industry in publicity for Boston-based publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2013, leading media and tour campaigns for a wide range of genres and titles. Later, she joined Porter Square Books as Events Manager and store co-owner, where she hosted hundreds of book events, ranging from sold-out theaters for household names like Stephen King and Sonia Sotomayor, to intimate literary salons in community members' living rooms, to the crackling energy of the Grubbie Debut Series. Leila has also worked as a bread baker, event planner for large-scale university functions, a full-time farmhand, and as editorial intern for Family Flavours, a parenting magazine for Arab audiences based in Amman, Jordan. Outside of work, you'll often find Leila elbows-deep in clay at her pottery studio.

Nora Meiners (she/her) is the Marketing Operations Manager at GrubStreet where she manages the day-to-day marketing operations and analyzes audience insights and trends. She spent a decade honing her marketing skills at a board game and jigsaw puzzle company. She has a passion for live events, storytelling, and building community. Nora was a spoken word poet who has competed, volunteered and helped organize multiple National Poetry Slam events. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. When not at work you might find her at a thrift store, paddle-boarding at Walden Pond, or playing Rummikub.

Jamila (she/her) is an Administrative Assistant for Adult Programs at GrubStreet, where she first worked as a Barista in the Cafe. She graduated from Harvard College in 2023 with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Film. During her time in college, she served as a staff writer and executive editor on the Harvard Crimson’s Arts board. She was also a founding member and Arts chair of Indigo Magazine, a Black literary arts magazine and on-campus creative community. Previously, she has interned on GBH’s weekly television program Basic Black, completed an internship with Warner Bros. Discovery’s DEI team, and assisted producers and casting directors at Stage 13, a content studio centering multidimensional stories and storytellers. In her free time, she enjoys catching movies at local cinemas, trying new coffee shops, working through her TBR pile, and going for long walks in the city.

Gray (he/him/his) is currently an MFA student at Emerson College, where he also received his BFA in Creative Writing. He has previous experience in higher education, social work and, of course, slinging coffee. When he’s not working, it’s safe to bet that Gray is either purchasing more plants than he can handle, buying more books for his to-be-read pile, planning out a new cosplay, or figuring out his next story. If you ever see him, feel free to offer some reading recommendations!

As Senior Development Adviser, Stephanie Poggi works to ensure that GrubStreet has the resources to meet its ambitious goals, including dramatically increasing access for underrepresented communities. Before coming to GrubStreet, Stephanie helped to lead and raise funds for literary journals, reproductive rights and justice efforts, and racial and economic justice campaigns. She also worked as a journalist and editor for many years, including as editor-in-chief of Sojourner: The Women’s Forum and as news and then features editor of Gay Community News. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, and back in the day, she earned a double major in Feminist Studies and Italian from Stanford University. She is revising her first novel.

Ida Rahimi (she/her) is the Youth Programs Coordinator. At age 6 she wrote, “My favorat part of sekendgrad is readersworksho. Becus I like too read so much that Iread at night. And I want to be an author and illustrateder too.” Not much has changed since. Ida has a wide range of experience in the literary world, from the independent bookstore and local library, to experimental poetry research, small press publishing, and youth literacy education. Despite eternally groaning at long winter months and a general suspicion of the Northeast, she’s spent her entire life in the Greater Boston area and earned her B.A. in English from Boston University. She’s a firm advocate for the restorative power of the arts in its capacity to heal ourselves and communities, confront institutional oppression, and imagine radical futures. She loves to play in the sun.

Ruth is a recent graduate of Smith College. She studied English literature with a focus in creative writing. She likes to write character driven, realistic fiction. In her free time, you can find her reading, hiking, or by the ocean.

Zinnia (she/her) is the Program Coordinator at GrubStreet. She has many years of experience teaching creative writing and prioritizes the practice of a care-centered and equitable pedagogy. She holds her MFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University. Her writing is published with TSR: The Southampton Review, Voicemail Poems, and Peach Mag, among others. She received Fugue's 2018 writing contest in prose, and was long listed for the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize by Foundlings Press in 2022. Her fiction is featured in the speculative anthology WORLDS IN WHICH. Zinnia does not feel burdened by "genre barriers," and wants to talk to you about your sources of inspiration (or ghost stories) over a shared meal.

As GrubStreet’s Artistic Director, Dariel Suarez oversees the artistic vision of GrubStreet’s offerings, with particular emphasis on the Writer’s Stage, new workshop models and advanced programming, Grub’s podcast studio, and fellowship initiatives. Dariel was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1997 at age fourteen. He is the author of the novel The Playwright’s House (Red Hen Press), finalist for the Rudolfo Anaya Fiction Award and the Massachusetts Book Award, and the story collection A Kind of Solitude (Willow Springs Books), winner of the Spokane Prize and the International Latino Book Award for Best Collection of Short Stories. Dariel is an inaugural City of Boston Artist Fellow, and his work has received the First Lady Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize and appeared in Best American Essays, The Threepenny Review, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Literary Hub, among others. Dariel earned his MFA in Fiction at Boston University and currently resides in the Boston area.

Elise Tally (she/her) is the Senior Manager, Grants & Foundation Relations at GrubStreet. With a background in music as both an educator and administrator, Elise brings over a decade of experience supporting arts initiatives. Ensuring access to the arts and furthering educational opportunities for creators of all ages and means is one of her core values which she strives to center in all of her work. Elise is a native New Englander having grown up in Maine and studied at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge. She currently resides in Burlington with her family, and loves to take advantage of everything New England has to offer from camping in NH to attending concerts at the Pavilion in the Seaport!

Sean Van Deuren (he/him/his) is the Director of Marketing & Communications at GrubStreet and is responsible for marketing and communications initiatives, brand strategy and management, and the production of promotional materials and marketing campaigns. He has had many roles at GrubStreet over the years including marketing, volunteer coordination, community engagement, and youth program management. He previously worked on programs and communications at an applied research and design lab focused on tech and new media for civic good, and earned his BFA in Writing, Literature, & Publishing from Emerson College. When not working on amplifying GrubStreet’s mission, programs, events, and the many artistic successes of students and community members, you’ll find him enjoying the latest independent films and old Hollywood classics at local theaters, riding around town on his bicycle, and generally collecting (read: amassing) more books than he could ever hope to finish in his lifetime (but he’s still giving it a go!). He invites everyone to follow and connect with GrubStreet on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and encourages the whole GrubStreet community to share their writing and publishing success stories with us via the "good news" section of our website. 

Emma (she/her/hers) is the Executive Administrator & Senior Events Coordinator. She previously worked for theaters and non-profits in New York and New England, including Theatre Communications Group, Huntington Theatre Company, Company One Theatre, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Live & In Color, Sleeping Weazel, and more. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and her writing has been featured on HowlRound.com and at the Huntington Theatre Company. She holds a BA in Theater and Gender & Women's Studies from Connecticut College and received additional training at the National Theater Institute and British American Drama Academy.

Erin oversees GrubStreet's core curriculum, leads the Programs team, and is a member of GrubStreet's executive team. She began her career in literary and educational nonprofits in the Bay Area, at McSweeney's, 826 Valencia, and Reading Partners, and has worked at GrubStreet since 2017. Erin teaches essay classes, and is a student of both fiction and nonfiction here at GrubStreet. Erin studied classical literature as an undergraduate at St. John's College and Mills College, and holds an Ed.M. degree in Learning and Teaching from Harvard, where she studied literature, philosophy, and curriculum design.