Our SQUAD
Anthology Adviser
Karina teaches us the wonders of Adobe InDesign so we can publish our incredible anthologies.
Karina Granda
More about Karina
Karina Granda is an Art Director at Little, Brown Books For Young Readers where she designs Young Adult and Middle Grade novels, as well as the occasional picture book. She has worked on numerous New York Times bestsellers including The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black, Internment by Samira Ahmed, The Magic Misfits Series by Neil Patrick Harris, Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. When not making books, she likes to take walks around Her Bushwick neighborhood, visit museums, watch reality TV, and read Yelp reviews for her next eating adventure. You can find her work at karinagranda.com
Développeuse
With just a few keystrokes, Stephanie makes WordPress kneel before her and bend to all our coding wishes.
Stephanie O’Hanley
More about Stephanie
Stephanie is honored to be of service to Uptown Stories and for this opportunity to blend a longtime love of WordPress with new web development skills. She lives near Montreal. You’ll find her at stephanieohanley.com
Social Media Savant
Julianna knows just what to share with our followers, growing our online communities and keeping them up-to-date.
Julianna Chang
More about Julianna
Julianna is a lover of all things art, and is happy to be a helping hand at Uptown Stories.
Traductora Habladora
Assuring all voices can be heard at Uptown
Natalie Legros
More about Natalie
Natalie Legros is a Haitian-American native of Washington Heights. She started learning Spanish in middle school and went on to major in Spanish at Haverford College. (She also studied linguistics and Chinese.) She has translated for online newspapers, non-profit organizations, and media companies. In May, she will earn her Master’s degree in Translation from Kent State University. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, listening to music, baking, and being a foodie!
Webcrawler
We’re grateful to Laura for using her extraordinary skills and extra time to help us with our site.
Laura Ho
More about Laura
Laura is grateful to be able to combine her passions for WordPress and event production as a WordPress developer for Elevation 3D and Melange Media. She can be found at lauraho.net
Worker Bee
Su makes us want to write sonnets about marketing, data, spreadsheets and getting the job done.
Suporna Das
More about Suporna
Suporna Das is a 19-year-old volunteer from the Bronx studying Actuarial Science and Psychology at Baruch College through the Macaulay Honors College. Despite her natural affinity for STEM, she is always eager to learn more about literature and art. On a day off, you will definitely find her reading/writing, playing video games, or binging a new TV show.
Worker Bee
Spencer’s can-do attitude and stellar attention to detail make us wonder what we ever did without him.
Spencer McQuaig
More about Spencer
Spencer McQuaig is an 18-year-old volunteer taking a gap year after graduating from Bronx Science. In Fall 2021, he is going to study English and Art History at Swarthmore College. Spencer is also a singer-songwriter with music on Spotify, an avid reader, and a proud theater nerd.
Workshop Wizard
As a Workshop Wizard, Coy provides extra support to instructors in our creative writing workshops.
Coy Jacobs
More about Coy
Coy Jacobs is an Illustration Junior at Parsons and is happy to be volunteering at Uptown stories. He is interested in animal rights and rescue, has seven rescue chickens. Coy is going to be a professional artist in the near future and we can say we knew him when.
Workshop Wizard
As a Workshop Wizard, Diana provides extra support to instructors in our creative writing workshops.
Diana Mao
More about Diana
Diana Miao is a Junior at Parsons School of Design – The New School, majoring in Illustration and minoring in Communication Design. She has been working with Uptown Stories for 6 months, and she loves doodling, storytelling, and animating. In her free time, she likes to watch horror movies, sing karaoke, and explore different restaurants/cuisines.
Workshop Wizard
As a Workshop Wizard, Daniel provides extra support to instructors in our creative writing workshops.
Daniel Ortega-venni
More about Daniel
Daniel Ortega-Venni is a senior at Columbia University, double majoring in Computer Science-Mathematics and Creative Writing. He has volunteered with Uptown Stories for about four years and, when not stressing out over schoolwork, can usually be found listening to music, playing sims or getting way too invested in a new show.
Workshop Wizard
As a Workshop Wizard, Hibah provides extra support to instructors in our creative writing workshops.
Hibah Vora
More about Hibah
Hibah Vora is a student at Barnard College of Columbia University and an avid volunteer for Uptown Stories’ marketing and writing workshops. Hibah is passionate about helping students of all backgrounds succeed and develop a love for writing. Outside of school, Hibah conducts laboratory research, is a senior staff writer for a college publication, is on the Columbia University Sailing Team, and is on the executive board for the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal, and tutors students for standardized tests.
Join us
Adwords Authority
If the mysteries of AdWords are second nature to you, keep reading. Google gives us $10K in Google Ads each month – and we need help using that opportunity to spread the good word about Uptown Stories.
Your Name here
Anthologester
The Anthologester helps edit and lay out the print anthology published at the conclusion of each semester.
Your Name here
D.O.E. Diplomat
Help us communicate with your school’s administration, literacy teachers, PTA, and parent community.
Your Name here
Essay Writing Tutor
If you’re a writer, an editor, or teacher who would like to use your talents for good, this is your chance to help shape the future! We’ll be assisting students with their high school essays, giving them the best chance to go to the high school of their choice.
Your Name here
Granter of Wishes
Help us secure funding by writing one grant proposal. We’ll familiarize you with our programs, goals and financial needs and assign you a grant. You’ll compile the information, compose, and together we’ll hit send on a proposal.
Your Name here
Ideal Intern
Interns are knights in shining armor: dedicated to the details, willing to conquer every task, and dependable throughout the semester. If you’re eager to learn the skills to own whatever life throws your way, come be a part of the inner workings of Uptown Stories.
Your Name here
Photo Phenom
Our young writers are picture perfect, and we have a bizillion photos to prove it. We need someone to help us create an official, searchable library. If you’re organized, consistent, and can think – forgive the pun – big picture as well as in thumbnail detail, you’re the librarian we’re looking for.
Your Name here
Press Liaison
Communicate with local media and develop relationships, spreading the word about our pay-what-you-can program. Skills: excellent telephone and email etiquette, experience writing effective press releases.
Your Name here
Researcher of Fun Facts
Let’s get meta – help us find research about the positive impact of writing (especially creative writing), youth development, stats about our neighborhood, and other fun facts that support the Uptown Stories mission.
Your Name here
Scholastic Scholar
If you understand the fine details of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (or are willing to learn them) our writers could use your help navigating the waters.
Your Name here
Social Media Savant
Use your magic to help us find interesting content to share with our Uptown family on Facebook and Instagram. Info on publishing opportunities, writing and art, and book recommendations are top on our list, but we’re open to suggestions. If you think you can help us grow our following, let us know.
Your Name here
Uptown Ink Assistant
Uptown Ink is our online magazine that showcases essays, poems and comics from our posse of young writers and artists. If you have the desire to support the posse with your editing skills or WordPress experience, we could definitely use your assistance.
Your Name here
Volunteer Sleuth
The backbone of Uptown Stories is our mighty Small Job Squad – volunteers who know how to get things done. We’re in need of a Sleuth who can find the greatest volunteers in all the land who are willing to help get a variety of jobs done, supporting the mission of Uptown Stories.
Your Name here
Worker Bee
If you like crossing off things on your to-do list, and have a few hours to give during the week, we have a multitude of small but important tasks that need to be taken care of.
Your Name here
Workshop Wizard
Workshop wizards provide extra support to instructors in our writing workshops. Duties can include taking attendance, helping students one-on-one or in small groups with their writing, and assisting with the preparation of the end of semester readings and anthology.
Your Name here
Zapier Specialist
As a Zapier specialist, you’ll be able to help make our systems run as Zapier intended them to – with efficiency! We’re a tiny organization so every Zap created means more time with our young writers.
