Gerald Richards is CEO of 826 National, a network of creative writing and afterschool tutoring centers in eight cities in the US. Last year the 826 National network worked with 29,000 students with the help of more than 5,000 volunteers and published 955 pieces of student writing. 

Paul W. Morris is director of literary awards for PEN American Center, which annually confers $150,000 in awards, grants, and prizes to writers in multiple genres. He has served as a book and magazine editor, publicist, and marketing specialist, and is an advisor for Guernica and The New Inquiry.

Chad Kampe is the executive director of the Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute, a nonprofit that helps students ages six to eighteen with their writing skills. Previously an elementary school teacher for grades three through five, he attended Columbia Teacher’s College and won GLAD’s Teacher of the Year Award.