Our team
Rimsha Afzal
Founder, Artistic Director
Rimsha Afzal (she, her, hers) is an actor, playwright, and poet. After a hiatus of not performing due to a lack of artistic opportunity for women of color in her area, she transformed her frustration into the birth of The Ink Project. Through this organization, she curated a writing and development seminar for underrepresented writers and launched a global virtual spoken word & poetry collective titled, “Dear 2020.” She has written a collection of poems under the quintette realm of mental health, nature, culture & identity, self-compassion, and humanity. She stands behind artists who aim to empower and elevate our society by reflecting truthful narratives of marginalized groups. She holds a Master of Arts from Duke University.
Karyn raynor
Literary Director
Karyn Raynor (she, her, hers) is a theatre artist, dramaturge, and playwright. She has written two full-length plays, one of which she is currently submitting to festivals around the country for review and staging. Playwriting is her passion, as she loves telling stories through dialogue, especially stories that would otherwise never be heard. She has been with The Ink Project since its inception, and is currently in charge of compiling plays from writers around the world to add to the Quarterly Submissions archive. It is her mission to share her love of writing and her experience with others so that more stories may be told by those who have discovered the power of their voices through this medium.
Nori Rivera
Operations Manager
Nori (they, them, theirs) is a non-binary aspiring writer. Nori is a former cohort member of the New Voices program, and the former intern for the New Voices program. They now work as The Ink Projects operations manager. A passion for reading and writing, and a thirst for knowledge is what brought Nori back to the New Voices program. Nori is currently working on a multitude of products in between New Voices semesters. Aside from their on going work, Nori has also written multiple short plays and small comedy based skits, as well as the occasional short story.