Mallory Hellman (she/her) is a writer, educator, and advocate for youth creativity. Since 2015, she has served as the Director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project, where she leads programs that bring free, high-quality writing opportunities to young people across Iowa. Mallory graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA in Fiction) and Harvard University (BA in English and American Literature) and has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, and in schools, shelters, and community centers throughout the Midwest. Her nonfiction has appeared in publications such as Tuesday Magazine and Forbes. In recognition of her leadership and community engagement, she received the Bravo Award from the Coralville Chamber of Commerce in 2015. In 2024, she co-founded the Experiential Education Collective, an organization devoted to promoting student-centered learning and hands-on creativity in schools and other educational spaces.
Mallory sits on the board of Agudas Achim Congregation in Coralville, where she teaches Sunday school and chairs the tikkun olam (“repairing the world”) committee. Her work with young Jewish students during the war on Gaza inspired “Coexistences,” her chapter in Exploring Anne Frank and Difficult Life Stories (Routledge, 2024), which reflects on how education can help navigate trauma and identity.
