Administration
ADMINISTRATION
Elliot Figman – Executive Director
As an earlier admirer of Poets & Writers, Elliot came to the organization as a volunteer in 1977. Four years later he was appointed the organization’s executive director. Elliot graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in English from Oberlin College in 1971 and earned an MA in Teaching from the University of Massachusetts in 1972. He has served on the Board of Directors of Oberlin College and The Corlears School. An accomplished poet, his book, Big Spring, was published by Four Way Books in 2003.
Jennifer Benka – Managing Director
Jen joined Poets & Writers as the managing director in January 2001, bringing nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience at social justice and arts organizations. Her collection of poems, A Box of Longing with Fifty Drawers, was published by Soft Skull Press in 2005, and she has received grants and awards from Intermedia Arts, the Poetry/Film Workshop, Wisconsin Arts Board, and Xeric Foundation. She holds a degree in journalism from Marquette University, a certificate in arts management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and an MFA in poetry from The New School.
William F. Hayes – Controller
Bill has been controller of Poets & Writers since 1999. He has been involved in the media industry for the past 25 years. Prior to joining Poets & Writers, Bill served as the controller of the Talman Company, a small press publisher and distributor located in New York City. Bill has also held the position of assistant to the treasurer/controller of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), and controller of United Artists Cablesystems Inc., eastern division. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s CPA emphasis program.
Alexanne Pemberton – Full-charge Bookkeeper
Alex has been the full-charge bookkeeper of Poets & Writers since 2006. She has served as the accounting coordinator for Niche Media and has worked in the finance departments at Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Alan Guttmacher Institute.
Jason Chapman – Director, Information Technology
Jason has worked in the IT industry for over twenty years, and joined Poets & Writers in 1997. His diverse experiences include mainframe operations for the Georgia Institute of Technology, application development for a military contractor, and Web development for a variety of businesses. He is also the author of the novel, The Heretic, an early success in the still-developing arena of electronic publishing.
D. Sulaitis – Administrative Coordinator
D. has worked at Poets & Writers since 1991. Her short stories have appeared in Inkwell, New York Stories, and Painted Bride Quarterly, and one of her essays was included in My Father Married Your Mother (WW Norton, 2006). In 2006, D. won the Boston Review’s annual fiction contest and she has been a finalist in both the New Letters and Zoetrope fiction contests, and for the Flannery O’Connor award for a collection of short stories. She is the recipient of two fiction fellowships from The New York Foundation for the Arts, and holds a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Hartford.
Chris Reichheld – Development & Marketing Associate
Chris graduated from NYU’s College of Arts & Science with a degree in dramatic literature and theater history, and joined P&W in 2005. He served for two years as associate theater editor of Washington Square News, NYU’s daily newspaper, and has previously worked in the publicity department of Harry N. Abrams, completed a year-long fellowship at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and interned at Playbill.com.
