Jocelyn Gottschalk
Senior HR Manager
Jocelyn is the Senior HR Manager at Writopia Lab and has been delighted to enthusiastically support this mission since 2019. She has a BA in theater, an MA in Museum Studies—Costumes and Textiles—and a certification from SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. She has many years of experience in HR management and operations in the creative industries of publishing, music, and higher education. Prodigiously curious, she loves to learn by reading, discussing, sharing, and doing. Jocelyn is endlessly inspired by the human creative spirit and is grateful to work with the amazing people at Writopia Lab who engage with that spirit every day.
Malcolm Knowles
Program Manager, The Writopia Music Lab
Creative Writing and Songwriting Instructor
Malcolm Knowles has been part of the Writopia Lab team since 2018. He is a writer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Houston, Texas, where he learned to record and release music during his teenage years. He later attended Sarah Lawrence College with a focus in Jazz Guitar, Composition, and Radio. During the summer, Malcolm teaches Creative Writing and Songwriting at both the Writopia Full Day camp and WriCampia, and is the Division Head of Upper Boys at WriCampia. After two years of developing the Writopia Songwriting Studio and its camp electives, Malcolm co-designed, launched, and began overseeing the Writopia Music Foundry in 2021. Both programs are offered as part of Writopia's Music Lab. During the school year, Malcolm helps young and teen writers navigate the process of Essay Writing, Creative Writing, and Songwriting. When not teaching, you can often find Malcolm next to the closest musical instrument.
Tasnim Hussain
Program Manager
Instructor
Tasnim Hussain is a creative writing and essay writing instructor at Writopia Lab, where she offers support to young writers throughout their writing process. Tasnim graduated as salutatorian from Hunter College, where she majored in English with minors in Education and Sociology. She has taught in public schools throughout the city, working with students in many different contexts and settings in English classrooms. In awe of the creative genius of Writopia Lab writers, she finds herself constantly learning from their passion and enthusiasm. In her free time, Tasnim enjoys writing short fiction and free verse poetry, and she has been published in GRLQUASH, a bi-annual literary magazine, and Hunter College's The OliveTree Review.
Tammy Scozzafava
Part Time HR & Payroll Associate
Tammy Scozzafava is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab as the Part Time HR & Payroll Associate. Her varied professional experience spans the industries of arts/entertainment, media, and nonprofit organizations, with a focus on operations and human resources. Highlights of her career have been serving as an NBC Page; AEA Stage Manager; Talent Acquisition Partner & HR Generalist for New York Magazine; COO of a boutique theatrical general management & producing firm where she worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international productions, amongst other projects; and as a member of the global recruitment team for Open Society Foundations, the world's largest private funder of individual groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. Tammy graduated with honors from Vassar College with a BA in Drama and holds a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. Growing up in a large Italian-American family fostered her deep love for food and tradition; and she is passionate about learning about other cultures through those pillars. Her two mottos for life are: “Eat well, travel often” and “Food is love”.
Samantha Stone
Instructor
Registration Support
Samantha Stone began with Writopia Lab as a JLA volunteer in 2016 and has taught creative writing and essay workshops since the summer of 2017. In the Fall of 2019 she joined the administrative team part-time, helping with registration, and is delighted to work more closely with the team. Samantha is a New York City based playwright and theatre artist, who focuses on creating theatre for social change in both national and international platforms. She received finalist status for the Leah Ryan Fund For Emerging Women Writers in 2019 and for the Ivoryton Playhouse’s POWER PASSION PROSE Women Playwrights’ Initiative for 2018. Her work has been produced at the Walkerspace at Soho Rep, Primary Stages, and as part of the 20th annual New York International Fringe Festival. In 2013, she earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the George Washington University. She has an MFA from the Fordham/Primary Stages Playwriting program, which she earned in 2018, and currently teaches as an adjunct professor in Fordham’s English department.
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