Our Staff
Kate Reuther is the founder and director of Uptown Stories with the mission of providing young writers the chance to discover and develop their inner voices.
Over the past ten years, Uptown Stories has offered nearly 200 writing workshops, and championed the voices of more than 1,500 kids in Manhattan’s uptown neighborhoods.
Before Uptown Stories, Kate taught middle and high school Humanities for over 25 years, in both public and private schools, including the Tompkins Square Middle School, Calhoun, Fieldston, and Bank Street.
Her own fiction has appeared in The Madison Review, Brain Child, Salamander, and The Ledge.
Kate is a life-long New Yorker and has been living in Washington Heights since 2003 with her two kids.
Dorkys Ramos is the director of programs for Uptown Stories.
She is a bilingual writer, editor, artist, and teacher born-and-raised in Washington Heights/Inwood.
Her work has appeared in a variety of digital and print publications, including Travel + Leisure, BET.com, Time Out New York Kids, Parents Latina, the Syracuse Post-Standard, and the Manhattan Times, among others.
She currently teaches writing and art to elementary, middle school, and high school students in Washington Heights and Inwood and is part of the steering committee for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ metro chapter.
She’s a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where she studied Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism and is also the founder and illustrator of stationery company Porcupine Hugs.
Melanie Thibeault is the director of marketing and operations for Uptown Stories.
She likes rules, guidelines and procedures, especially when they’re applied all at the same time. She also likes skateboarding and surfing, though she can do neither.
Melanie lives in Washington Heights, but would consider moving to the Bronx to be a zookeeper. (she/her/hers)
Liana Wilson-Graff is a Marketing & Operations Coordinator for Uptown Stories.
She recently earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Haverford/Bryn Mawr Colleges where she also focused her studies on English and Africana Studies minors.
Liana is a passionate dance and performance studies writer, interdisciplinary thinker, and artist with published writing in the Journal of Art Criticism and dance reviews in Splash Magazine.
As a born and raised uptown kid, Liana is so happy to be back home and giving back to her community through Uptown Stories.
Jourdan Pérez is a Development Coordinator for Uptown Stories.
Born and raised in Harlem, he took a four-year break from the city at Bard College upstate, where he received his B.A. in Sociology.
Here, he began his work in developing and supporting community engagement initiatives, publishing a study on the role of community and social relationships in the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.
Returning to the city, he spends his free time as an amateur cook, amateur photographer, and generally trying new experiences.
Andrea is a Development Assistant for Uptown Stories.
Currently studying at Bennington College in Vermont, she aims to get her B.A. in Biology and Latin American Studies in the summer of 2026, paired with a “minor” concentration in Creative Writing.
Her unique selection of studies has allowed her to perform an exciting range of unusual academic tasks, from translating surrealist Spanish poetry to monitoring nest boxes built for the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). She is excited to keep using her skillset to help out at Uptown Stories, ever since originally starting as an Education and Writing Intern in the winter of 2023.
Andrea originally hails from North Brunswick in New Jersey, where she lives with her Peruvian family. She's happy to either birdwatch locally when the weather is nice, or to create digital illustrations and experiment with vocal synthesis technology when she has to stay indoors.
Ella is a Publishing Assistant at Uptown Stories.
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in the Bay Area, she discovered her love of stories back in 3rd grade, and continued pestering librarians throughout high school and college. After discovering an interest in journalism and publishing in college, she briefly explored radio and community history in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, before heading back to the East Coast.
Ella hopes that her work at Uptown Stories will encourage kids to take themselves and their writing seriously, by showing them that other people are really invested in their work too.
Whether writing stories or taking a morning walk, she enjoys paying attention to the tiniest details. Ella loves birding, although she has a really bad memory, and design. She recently built her own bedside table.
Cassidy is a LEAPS Program Assistant at Uptown Stories.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Cassidy is a dedicated educator. Over the past 5 years Cassidy has worked with students of all ages with a focus on creative expression and social-emotional learning.
She is excited to support Uptown Stories' LEAPS programs inside and outside of the classroom. Cassidy loves witnessing students engage in the creative process and find joy in writing.
In her free time, Cassidy loves reading fantasy novels, swimming, and crocheting. In a past life, Cassidy was a hobbit living in the Shire.
Rafael Tillery is an Americorps Civic Corps Member (2025-26) for Uptown Stories.
Rafael Tillery is a Midwest-born dancer, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans performance, teaching, spoken word, and art activism. He holds a B.A. in Theatre and Dance from Austin Peay State University and an M.F.A. in Dance and Choreography from Florida State University. Rafael’s creative and scholarly research focuses on the intersections of identity and interdisciplinary performance as well as the utilization of dance as a modality through which to excavate various ontologies around Blackness and Queerness.
Rafael is excited to develop his administrative, project management, and event planning abilities to support Uptown Stories. He is also bringing his expertise in movement education to bring another dimension to our LEAPS afterschool programming at Amistad Dual Language School.
In his free time, Rafael loves to dance, of course, listen to different types of music, and study astrology!
Sphynxx Oakley is an Americorps Civic Corps Member (2025-26) for Uptown Stories.
As a Two-Spirit mixed media visual artivist and educator from the Bronx, Sphynxx's artistic practice is rooted in the conviction that creativity is essential for both personal and collective liberation. They are passionate about awakening artistry in those who may not consider themselves artists but are curious enough to explore.
Sphynxx is most excited to witness and facilitate the transformation of young students into published authors through our LEAPS afterschool program at Muscota New School, supporting their creative process from first draft to final anthology.
Some fun facts about them are that they love horror movies, they have 3 cats, 1 dog, and a sweet tooth!
Our Board
Ted Altschuler has worked for 30+ years with nonprofit organizations and higher learning institutions to connect the public to culture. His programs have increased public understanding of science and health, championed the creation of new theatre, music, and multidisciplinary work, promoted conversations in the literary arts, and amplified the voices of marginalized artists.
His work as a director of theatre and opera includes more than 45 productions at Rode Hoode (Amsterdam), Phoenix Repertory Theatre, New York City Opera, Lincoln Center’s Kaplan Penthouse, The Juilliard School, and others.
Ted has taught acting internationally at conservatories and young artist programs. He served as Associate Director of Mint Theatre Company.
He holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and conducted research on autism spectrum disorders at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Most recently, he provided artistic and administrative leadership of the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York, presenting over 300 programs and serving more than 48,000 patrons annually.
Gloria's passion and experience revolve around using communications as a force for social good. For 25 years, she led communications and media relations for Cigna and the Cigna Foundation, helping Cigna develop a social responsibility strategy and working in tandem with community partners around the world to help improve health and well-being.
Gloria has taught for 10 years as an adjunct professor at Rowan University in a course she developed in healthcare communications, and she began a scholarship in her name to instill a sense of community service among communications students. She began writing children's books 12 years ago and visiting schools to help promote health, self-esteem, kindness and love of reading.
Glora is excited to begin working with Uptown Stories to help further the mission of empowering young people to tell their stories.
Christian is a Director in the Trust Solutions practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, serving large banking and financial services clients. For 10 years, Christian has been a trusted advisor to clients through periods of change, as well as a leader on large, multi-national teams. He recently returned to the New York area after a three-year tour in Zurich, Switzerland.
Christian obtained his undergraduate degrees in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a registered CPA in the state of New York. Christian was born and raised in New Jersey, where he currently lives. He is a proud husband, and father to a baby girl. Christian is excited to be a member of the Uptown Stories board, where he leverages his professional skills and love of reading and writing to help grow the organization.
Over the course of his professional life, when Stan wasn’t working as a teacher, he was working with other teachers or supervising them, principally at the Bank Street School for Children; or he was writing for teachers and children. Some of the places that have published his writing are the NYTimes Learning Network, The Library of Congress, WNET, Scholastic, Macmillan, the Parents League and the New Deal Network. His first published book was Black Stars, which was a collection of short biographies of African- Americans, written for middle grade readers.
He is a principal trustee in the Reich Fund, which supports organizations that help children. Stan works and lives with his family, two cats and a New Zealand Red bunny on the Upper West Side.
Jennifer Mota is a senior vice president at MFA Financial, Inc., where she is the head of human resources and the head of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
For 15+ years, Jennifer has been a strategic HR business partner and culture leader, balancing the current needs of organizations while staying focused on the future.
Passionate about gender equality, Jennifer is a New York co-chair for 50/50 Women on Boards, the leading global education and advocacy campaign for driving gender balance on corporate boards, and is an official member of the Forbes HR Council.
Jennifer obtained her undergraduate degrees in marketing and organizational behavior from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She earned her master’s degree from Columbia University in organizational psychology, and earned a certification in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University.
Being born and raised in Washington Heights, Jennifer is elated to be a member of the Uptown Stories board of directors. Mota is also a mom to two young boys, a dog named Waffles, and a lucky wife to her best friend of 23+ years.
Retired as the Executive Director of Reeves Reed Arboretum, Summit, NJ, Frank Juliano brought innovation and community building to all aspects of his nonprofit work including re-branding and strengthening of core educational and horticultural programs, operations, cultivation and fundraising, and the development of comprehensive and inclusive visual and performing arts initiatives. His work fostering community outreach includes programs targeting underserved populations - students, seniors, and people living with Alzheimer’s Disease - and a job-readiness training program offering second chance opportunities for the homeless.
Frank is the recipient of the Fred Honold Award for Community Leadership. He is a consultant for many nonprofits including ArtsConnection, Palisades Parks Conservancy, Fort Tryon Park Trust, and serves on the board of ArtsWestchester, the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Council, and now Uptown Stories! He remains closely associated with Reeves-Reed Arboretum, serving as curator for art exhibitions in their gallery and for installations on their historic grounds.