Join the Writopia Lab Junior Board of Directors! 

The Junior Board is independent of but complementary to its Board of Directors in supporting and advancing its mission and are currently interviewing potential Junior Board members.

What We Do

The Junior Board is a volunteer council of young professionals dedicated to promote and advocate on behalf of Writopia Lab through fundraising and volunteer initiatives and attract new friends to the organization. 

The Junior Board comprises five committees, as follows:

• Fundraising / Scholarship
• Outreach / Website / Social Media
• Support / Volunteer / Events
• Alumni Network Development / Recruiting
• Accounting / Finance / Treasurer

Who We Are

Writopia Lab serves a very diverse community of youth and it is important to us that our Junior Board offers representation to those we serve. Ideally our new board members will bring diverse perspectives, life experiences, and expertise. Among the characteristics we hope to find in our new Junior Board members would be expertise and passion for fundraising and social justice as well as skills and experience in budgeting, accounting, finance, event planning, recruiting and digital media.

The time commitment for serving includes quarterly Junior Board of Directors meetings and committee/project meetings as required. If you have the time and interest, involvement can go beyond these main responsibilities.

Writopia Lab’s mission is to foster joy, literacy, and critical thinking in young people from all backgrounds through writing workshops. We are a national nonprofit, founded in NYC in 2007 serving between 4000 and 5,000 youths per year in workshops at our labs, in Title 1 schools, public and private schools, and at long-time partnership sites like Homes for the Homeless and Goddard Riverside. Our instructors are published writers and produced playwrights trained in our rigorous, strengths-based model. Our writers set goals and develop original pieces. For our in-house workshops, our families choose from a no-barrier sliding scale fee model the price-point then can afford or apply for full aid. We have never turned a family away due to an ability to pay.  We are one of the most socio-economically diverse youth literacy programs running nation-wide. 

Our Junior Board of Directors is expected to support the Junior Board’s mission through flexible levels of philanthropy, along with expertise-based advising and support, compliance oversight, and with enthusiastic sharing of our programs and work. There is no “give and get” requirement. According to our bylaws, Junior Board service at Writopia Lab is a two-year commitment with an opportunity to renew.  

Founders of The Junior Board

Kristjan Tomasson

Founding Member, Junior Board of Directors

Kristjan Tomasson is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who currently works as an Associate in Private Equity at Cerberus Capital Management. He is an alumnus of Writopia Lab Creative Writing Workshops and its CBO outreach program both as a student in middle school and as a teaching intern/volunteer throughout high school. Kristjan credits the dedicated mentors he had at Writopia Lab with developing his composition skills and nurturing his love of creative writing. When he became an instructor's assistant, he relished passing on what he had learned to fourth and fifth grade Writopia students. During the summer, he worked with under-resourced youth in the Rockaways, teaching them how to express their emotions through the art of writing which was a wonderful and inspirational community service experience.

Emma Hanley

Founding Member, Junior Board of Directors

Emma Hanley is currently an investor with Technology Crossover Ventures ("TCV") in New York, where she focuses on infrastructure and enterprise software growth equity investing. Prior to TCV, Emma started her career at Morgan Stanley in the Consumer Retail and Technology groups within the Investment Banking division, where she was first introduced to Writopia through a strategy partnership via Youth INC, an accelerator for New York City's youth-development nonprofits. She holds a B.S. degree in Management Science & Engineering and a minor in Computer Science from Stanford University. Emma has had a long love for supporting youth literacy as an English tutor to elementary and middle school students, editor of her school's creative writing magazine, member of the New York Public Library's Young Lions, and active book club enthusiast.

Paveena Bhugra

Founding Member, Junior Board of Directors

Paveena Bhugra is an Associate at Neuberger Berman focusing on Technology, Media and Telecom Investing. She grew up in Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Finance. Paveena has lived in NYC for the past five years and enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling and spending time with her friends and family. She serves on our junior board and has a passion for storytelling and believes in the positive impact creative writing can have on individuals everywhere. 

Email us at juniorboard@writopialab.org.