The Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation hires Lisa D. Gray as Executive Director

Edgar Award winner and non-profit leader Lisa D. Gray takes the helm to steer VONA into the future

Miami FL, October 2021 —The foremost multi-genre writing program for writers of color, VONA has named award-winning author and nonprofit leader Lisa D. Gray as its new Executive Director.

After a nationwide search, the board chose Gray based on her deep experience leading social justice and equity-centered organizations to stability so they can flourish. "We were looking for someone who has a passion for VONA's mission," says Board President M. Evelina Galang, "Lisa Gray brings that along with talent and the professional experience the job requires and that VONA needs."

Gray combines a love of literature with 30 years of experience working with communities and nonprofit organizations to create and access opportunities for people of color. A VONA alumna, she understands the needs of writers of color, and she knows what it takes to lead organizations to success. She attended VONA in 2008 and 2009 and won an Edgar Award for her short story The Queen of Secrets in the anthology New Haven Noir.

Gray plans to continue building the VONA community through fundraising, alumni engagement, and partnerships. She intends to address the impacts of the pandemic, which hit writers and artists of color especially hard.

"We will continue legacy programs, like our workshops, and cultivate new initiatives that assist writers in sustaining their practice and building careers," Gray says. "As writers of color, one of our roles is to observe and document life from our unique perspectives. VONA teaches us how to use a sociopolitical lens to tell stories that bring understanding and catalyze change. It is needed now more than ever."

In 1999 the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation was established by writers and activists who saw that traditional writing programs did not adequately serve emerging writers of color. As a community-based organization, VONA has for more than 20 years put writers of color, their narratives, voices, and experiences at the center of all conversations.

VONA has supported the growth and development of 2500+ writers. It creates platforms for community engagement rooted in social justice, provides workshops, and focuses on expanding writing opportunities. The organization's summer writing workshops, year-round classes, seminars, and professional development programs engage the work of social justice and build a global community of writers of color. Some 500 alumni have published a range of material, including Danez Smith, Patricia Engel, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, and Tayari Jones.