PEN America Officially Appoints Co-CEOs
Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf will helm PEN America as co-CEOs, the organization announced. Lopez and Rosaz Shariyf have both served as interim co-CEOs of PEN America since November 2024, bringing a decade of management and program experience to the role.
Lopez previously served as chief program officer for free expression at PEN America. Before joining PEN America, she worked as a democracy specialist at the United States Agency for International Development.
Rosaz Shariyf previously served as PEN America’s chief program officer for literary programs, including the PEN World Voices Festival and Literary Awards. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
In a statement, PEN America president Dinaw Mengestu called the pair “relentless advocates for writers and our staff and members, helping to build a stronger and more engaged organization.”
