Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf joined PEN America in 2015 and currently serves as the chief program officer of Literary Programming. Beginning in Nov 2024, she is also serving as interim co-CEO of PEN America. She oversees curation, production, audience building, and strategy for a range of programs and initiatives honoring literary excellence, lifting writers whose voices need to be heard, and curating public programs featuring American and international authors and artists. Formerly, as the manager of public programs at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, she produced a year-round schedule of panel discussions, performances, film screening, and symposia spanning the history and culture of the global Black experience. She oversaw audience development, public engagement strategies, and cultural community partnerships. She launched the Center’s innovative digital programming strategy with groundbreaking conversations on contemporary social justice issues with leading edge writers, artists, and scholars. She held prior appointments at Justice and Sustainability Associates, Washington, and Bates College, Maine. She holds an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and an MA in English Civilization from the University of the French West Indies.
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf
Interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer, Literary Programming
Articles by Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf
State Violence Threatens – but Cannot Silence – Free Expression
The Trump administration’s willingness to deploy state violence against civilians is a moment of crisis for democracy and free expression.
Trump and the Smithsonian: This is How We Lose Our Grip on the Truth
Efforts to rewrite history and silence dissent are a betrayal of our democratic traditions.
Why PEN America is Doubling Down on Florida
Two years ago, we partnered with a group of bestselling authors to establish a PEN America Florida office, aiming to combat censorship at its source. Today, that fight continues under the direction of our new Florida Director, William Johnson.
