Board of Directors

Originally a jazz musician from South Louisiana, Susan works as an illustrator who draws inspiration from the spirited and diverse cultural heritage that she experienced growing up. Susan’s work is primarily in character-driven children’s books, but has also worked extensively in design and entertainment illustration/animation. Susan has taught at Pratt Institute since 2008 and has been chair of the Associate Degree Department at Pratt since 2015. As an administrator, Susan has focused on developing a strong sense of belonging and community within her department. To meet the needs of all of her students, Susan began researching ways in which to support first-generation college students better and obtained her EdD from Northeastern University in this field.

Karrin Thompson is a creative visionary from Washington, DC. Inspired by literary greats and activists before her, she is passionate about reading and increasing access to Black and Brown stories. With a master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and over five years of experience in the education and literacy nonprofit sector, she has dedicated her career to elevating diverse narratives through communications and fundraising. Karrin currently works at the National Abortion Federation as the Development Database Lead. She is also the founder of Book’d By Design, a brand and web design business that elevates the diverse narratives of storytellers, literary nonprofits, and small businesses. 

Elizabeth DeHaan (she/her) is a Jamaican-Guyanese-American writer, poet, and the creative force behind enovaturient.com, a lifestyle blog highlighting world news, mental health, dating and everything in between. She has had her work published in Spoken Black Girl and been a contributor to XONecole.com Wit & Grace Magazine, Travel Under the Radar, and Black + Well. In her day to day, she works as an Executive Assistant at Alight, an NGO working with displaced communities around the globe. She is a certified yoga instructor, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Nicole Shawan Junior's (they/she) writing is anthologized in The Edge of the World: An Anthology of Queer Travel Writing (Blair 2025) and The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison (Haymarket 2022). Their creative nonfiction appears in top literary platforms like Guernica, the Rumpus, Oprah Daily, and more. Their literary art has received support from Hedgebrook, Tin House, Lambda Literary, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Periplus, and more. Nicole loves mentoring up-and-coming literary artists. Their work has garnered nominations for Best of the Net, and has been featured in Longreads' "Top 5 of the Week."