Executive Board
President,
M. Evelina Galang
“I have stepped up to lead VONA in gratitude for this gift, this opportunity, to support emerging writers of color and their pursuit of literary excellence. I have said yes in order to make sure the mission of our core founders continues. That even as we write a wide range of works, everything we do is political, is controversial, is necessary to be written. I have stepped up to make sure there is a safe space for the exploration of these issues, where the writers’ work is at the center of all conversations.” Visit www.mevelinagalang.com
M. Evelina Galang is the author of Her Wild American Self (Coffee House Press), One Tribe (New Issues Press), Angel De La Luna and the Fifth Glorious Mystery (Coffee House Press), Lolas’ House: Filipino Women Living With War (Curbstone Books), and is editor of Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images (Coffee House Press). Among her awards are the 2004 AWP Prize for the Novel, the 2004 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards Advancing Human Rights, and a 2002 Fulbright Senior Research Award. Galang teaches at the University of Miami and is core faculty and President of the Board of Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation.
Vice President, Treasurer, Stacie Evans
“I joined the board to support VONA’s move into its next phase. VONA has been critical to my development as a writer and a creator/holder of community, and I am committed to helping VONA grow, change, and continue the important work of nurturing writers of color.”
Stacie Evans lives in Brooklyn, NY. She writes essays, comics, poetry, and fiction and is a four-time VONA alum. Her work has appeared in New South, After Ferguson, Bitch Magazine, The Rumpus, and Bellingham Review. Stacie directs the Language and Literacy Programs department at the City University of New York, overseeing basic education, high school equivalency, language acquisition, and language immersion program development and support across the University system. She is an anti-racist organizer, a knitter, and a lover of Detroit’s monument to Joe Louis.
Secretary, David Mura
“I am on the board of VONA because I believe in its mission of supporting writers of color and its emphasis on the conjunction between writing and social justice. Hundreds of writers of color have attended VONA and an impressive number have gone to publish books, win prizes, and teach. The intersectional community created by VONA has changed the course of American literature.” Visit www.davidmura.com
David Mura is the author of two memoirs, Turning Japanese, which won the Oakland PEN Josephine Miles Book Award and was a New York Times Notable Book, and Where the Body Meets Memory. His novel, Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire, was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the John Gardner Fiction Prize, and Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award. His four books of poetry include the National Poetry Contest winner After We Lost Our Way, The Colors of Desire, which won a Carl Sandburg Literary Award, Angels for the Burning, and The Last Incantations. His newest book is A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing. He has taught at VONA for fifteen years and at the Stonecoast MFA, U. of Minnesota, U. of Oregon, Macalester College, and Hamline University.
Board Members
Connie Pertuz Meza
“VONA/Voices is to literature what Motown was to music, changing the sound of music forever. I want to be one of the writers who helps change the cannon, but also help other writers in the revolution.”
Connie Pertuz Meza, a Colombian American writer, inspired to pen pieces about her life, family, and ancestors. A NYC public school educator and a mother of two teenagers. Connie’s writing appeared in The Rumpus, Kweli Literary Journal, Lunch Ticket, Chalkbeat, The Nasonia, Women Who Roar, Herstryblg, Intervenxtions NYU Latinx Project, Raising Mothers, Dreamers Creative Writing, Voices In The Middle, The Acentos Review, MUTHA, and several anthologies. A forthcoming picture book with Scholastic 2022. Connie is a three-time VONA alum and board member, two-time Tin House participant, 2021 Kweli emerging writer fellow, 2021 Keywest Seminar Work In Progress Finalist, and 2021 Aspen Words Ricardo Salinas Latinx recipient.
Simone M. Honeygan
“VONA is on the verge of a new chapter with renewed dedication, clearer vision and bolder goals. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute in making that happen. I truly believe the best of VONA is yet to come, and it’s going to be remarkable!”
Simone M. Honeygan is a Jamaican American lawyer who resides in Miami. FL. She is a passionate civil litigator and advocate who practiced for several years in New York City before moving to Miami. As someone who has always been dedicated to advocacy, Simone is no stranger to fighting the good fight for equality and working towards leveling the playing field. She is ready to work and support VONA’s mission.
Diana Diaz
“I remember the relief in realising that I didn't need to explain my culture, my feelings, my Spanglish. VONA is the creative home where writers of color can express themselves unabashedly. I want to help expand our programming to make that a reality for more of us. Pa'lante, familia!”
Diana Diaz is a native LES Nuyorican writer whose creative nonfiction appears in Latina Outsiders: Remaking Latina Identity, Boricua en la Luna, Red Wheel Barrow and in A Cup of Comfort for Mothers To Be among others. Diana is a certified yoga teacher, and facilitates writing and yoga workshops throughout the United States. She earned a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU, and an MA in English Literature from la Universidad de Puerto Rico, recinto Rio Piedras. Diana is currently a staff writer for Hispanecdotes, a foodie, and mom to a Millenial daughter and a Gen Z son.
