OUR TEAM

MICHELLE FRANKE
Executive Director

Michelle Franke is the Executive Director of Humanitas where she oversees programs, fundraising, management, and growth. Franke joined Humanitas after serving as the Executive Director of PEN America Los Angeles. She has spent over a decade supporting writers and developing arts and education programs, producing over 200 events across Southern California. Named a “Face To Watch” by the Los Angeles Times, Franke has taught in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and at the University of Redlands. In 2010, she founded the literary journal, The Rattling Wall, which published the work of over 275 writers during its eight-year run. Prior to joining PEN America, Franke was a store manager at Kramerbooks in Washington, D.C., and at Book Soup in Los Angeles, two of the country’s most beloved independent bookstores. Franke received her MFA in creative writing with honors from American University. As a poet, she’s received scholarships and fellowships, notably from the New York State Summer Writers Institute and the Folger Shakespeare Library. In recent years, Franke has appeared at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), and on KPCC and KCRW, and elsewhere, where she’s interviewed writers and artists and discussed her own career in arts, advocacy, and community organization. She lives in Santa Monica, CA, with her husband and son.