NWUSO/WORKERS WRITE LEADERSHIP 2014
WHO ARE WE?
Esther Cohen, Executive Director of NWUSO (Workers Write), the nonprofit arm of the National Writers Union (UAW) is a longtime advocate and organizer of cultural affairs. She is the former executive director for Bread and Roses, the nonprofit cultural program affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU Local 1199) in New York City. She is also a consultant with the state Workforce Development Institute, the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, Jewish Currents Magazine, Workers United, LaborArts.org and the Clara Lemlich Awards program. She teaches at Manhattanville College, created and directed the UnseenAmerica national program for worker expression, and is a published author of five books, among other work. She is on the board of The Puffin Gallery for Social Activism Museum of the City of New York, The Puffin Foundation, Citylore, Palestine Israel Journal, Alimentum and The Road to Peace, She can be reached at bookdoctor@rcn.com
Board Members
Larry Goldbetter, Acting President, is President of the National Writers Union.
Rachel Bernstein, Secretary, is a labor historian, co-founder of Labor Arts, and teacher at NYU. She is a coordinator of the annual Clara Lemlich Awards presented by LaborArts.
Terry Schwadron, Treasurer, former senior editor at The New York Times; Deputy Managing Editor, The Los Angeles Times; News Editor, The Providence Journal-Bulletin. He is a longtime writer, editor and musician.
Fran Benson is editorial director of the Cornell University Press Labor Books.
Charles Coe is a poet and a grant officer of the Massachusetts Council on the Arts.
Toby Emmer runs the teaching programs for the New York United Auto Workers.
Rose Imperato is a coordinator at the Murphy Center (CUNY), and a force behind the Remember the Triangle Memorial Coalition.
Sherry Kane is Director, Workers United Education Program/CWE, the Consortium for Worker Education.
Marivir Montebon is a freelance journalist, blogger and publisher of justcliqit.com or OSM! She worked as a journalist in the Philippines and in Washington before moving to New York. She has published three books.
Calvin A. Ramsey is playwright, photographer and folk art painter who spends time in New York and Atlanta.
Chris Rhomberg teaches sociology at Fordham University, is a labor researcher and is the author of two books.
WHAT DO WE DO?
WorkersWrite has been a tax-exempt nonprofit devoted to encouragement and support of writers, writing and the telling of stories since 1988. Our current projects focus on coaching and encouraging low-wage workers to describe their lives. While we are loosely affiliated with the National Writers Union (United Auto Workers) through its headquarters in New York City, we are an independent, 501 (c) (3) organization.
http://www.workerstories.org was built with support from the Workforce Development Institute (wdiny.org) of Albany, NY.
Our project collecting stories from low-wage workers was made possible in part by a grant from the Riverside Church Sharing Fund in the City of New York.
WorkersWrite 