Mallory Hellman (she/her) has served as the Director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project since 2015. Prior to that, she received an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard. Mallory's nonfiction has appeared in Tuesday Magazine, Forbes, and elsewhere. She has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, and at K-12 schools, community centers, residential rehabilitation facilities, and shelters throughout the Midwest. Mal's favorite part about life with the IYWP is hearing students read their work aloud. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, solo (or group!) dance parties, and cooing to the nightshades in her garden. Her favorite word is "robust."