April 8, 2021, 10:41am
Today, the Center for Fiction announced that after an extensive national search, Traci Lester has been named as the organization’s next Executive Director. Lester comes to the Center for Fiction from the National Dance Institute, where she served as Executive Director from 2016 until this March; Lester also spent over a decade as Executive Director of the early literacy nonprofit Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, and has been recognized by the Manhattan Borough President as a Cultural Leader in New York City.
“Mrs. Lester is a proven leader with an extensive background in education and the arts,” said Erroll McDonald, Chairman of the Board, in a press release. “She brings more than 25 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector with an impressive track record of organizational development and growth. I am confident she will lead The Center with vision, creativity, and managerial skill as we continue to enhance and expand our programming.”
Said Lester herself, “I am so excited to join The Center for Fiction with its mission to encourage people to read and value fiction. The Center has an unending commitment to storytelling in all its forms and advances the work of authors from diverse backgrounds whose voices deserve to be heard . . . Through fiction, The Center works to elevate our shared humanity, which is so very important, especially during these unprecedented times.”