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.
In 2024, Mallory joined a team of local art and science educators to form the Experiential Education Collective, an organization devoted to promoting student-centered and hands-on creativity in schools and other educational spaces. Rooted in the belief that learning should be a lived experience, the Collective encourages students to learn by doing. The group will host its first educators’ summit for Iowa classroom teachers in August 2025.
