Staff
GILDA BRUCKMAN (Director of Community Writing Programs) was one of the founders of New Words Bookstore in 1974 and continued as book buyer and part of the managerial team for 28 years. She has been President of New Words, Inc. for most of that time and was President of New Words Live from 1997 to 2003. She has also been working as a writing tutor for undergraduate and graduate students at Cambridge College since 2003. She has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from Boston University and a fifth degree black belt in Aikido (a Japanese martial art), which she has studied since 1972 and which she teaches. She served for four years (1996-2000) on the Board of Directors of Project 10 East, Inc., a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender advocacy and support organization for students in Massachusetts. She also served on the Advisory Council of the New England Booksellers Association (1993-1999), and on the Steering Committee of the national Feminist Bookstore Network (1997-2002). Awards include the Independent Spirit Award (1999) from the Astraea Foundation, New York, and a Peace and Justice Award from the Cambridge Peace Commission (1998). Email Gilda:gbruckman@centerfornewwords.org
JACLYN FRIEDMAN (Program Director) has been the Program Director for CNW/New Words Live since January 2000. She is a poet and performance artist whose writing can be found at PW.org and PoetsAgainstTheWar.org, in Pedestal Magazine, the Underwood Review, Sojourner, and other publications, as well as on stages across New England and New York. Friedman is the former Program Director for LiveSafe, a non-profit safety training organization (now part of IMPACT Boston). She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, and is the recipient of a 2001 Cambridge Poetry Award, a 2004 Fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center, and a 2005 Literature Grant from the Somerville Arts Council. Her website can be found at www.jaclynfriedman.com. Email Jaclyn: jfriedman@centerfornewwords.org
JANET KNIFFIN (Executive Director) has more than 25 years experience in senior management of non-profit organizations that address issues of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation and class. And as a member of the first class of young women in a boys’ high school, followed by an undergraduate education in women’s studies, she started early promoting a feminist vision for change. Prior to coming to CNW, Janet was the Director of Development, Communications and Public Affairs of the Girl Scouts in Hartford, CT and, in 2007, served as interim CEO. At the Girl Scouts, she helped develop new initiatives including dating violence prevention, college readiness for inner-city youth, programming for girls in the juvenile justice system, and STEM. Prior to her tenure at the Girl Scouts, she was the Special Projects Director of the Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, where she served as team leader on programs that addressed gender and racial equity in education, women in nontraditional occupations, disadvantaged business enterprises, and disability issues. Janet is a former President of the Board of Directors of the Hartford Region YWCA and is currently a Trustee of the Global Harmony Institute (Farmington, CT) and a member of the Board of Directors of Class Action (Hadley, MA). Email Janet: janet@centerfornewwords.org
KL PEREIRA (Events Coordinator) is a poet, teacher, and activist. Pereira has served as an editor and writer for Whats Up Magazine/Spare Change News, advocacy publications by and for the homeless and underemployed. She teaches poetry classes and workshops focused on promoting the power of women’s words and encouraging women to find their voices at both The Women’s Center and Center for New Words. Pereira’s poetry and nonfiction can be found in The Pitkin Review, Girlistic Magazine, The Hub Journal: Boston’s Literary Occassional, Sui Generis, Bitch Magazine, Clamor Magazine, Whats Up Magazine/Spare Change News, and Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia from Greenwood Press. She holds a BA in Literature and Languages from Bard College, an MA in Gender/Cultural Studies from Simmons College and is currently at work on an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Email KL: klpereira@centerfornewwords.org
