New York, NY (April 21, 2008) — The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit that administers The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, today appointed Virginia McEnerney as Executive Director. Ms. McEnerney will report to the Board of Directors and work closely with senior management from Scholastic Inc., including Richard Robinson, CEO of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company. Scholastic founded the Art & Writing Awards 85 years ago this year.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Ms. McEnerney was Executive Director of Headcount, a grassroots voter registration organization, which she helped transition from an all-volunteer operation to one with the infrastructure and strategy to remain sustainable. McEnerney has also led the community relations and volunteerism efforts at Time Warner, where she was Vice President of Corporate Relations and Director of Community Relations.

“With her extensive experience in community relations, diversity programming, education and the arts, Virginia is the ideal person to guide the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers,” said Dwight E. Lee, Chairman of the Alliance Board of Directors. “As we celebrate The Awards’ 85th anniversary, we’re eager to build upon the rich tradition of finding and developing the nation’s most talented, creative and forward-thinking teenagers.”

McEnerney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from San Francisco State University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband the writer Richard Gehr, and their two children

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards provides a platform for creative expression for millions of students across the country. To date, more than 13 million of America’s most talented junior high and high school students have participated. Notable past award recipients include Richard Avedon, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates, Phillip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Zac Posen, Robert Redford and Andy Warhol. More than 2.5 million students have been recognized and shared in $25 million in awards and college scholarships. For more information about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, please visit www.artandwriting.org.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers provides validation through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards by bringing art and writing to a national audience, and develops a community for creative youth with resources to encourage, connect and empower them. The Alliance’s mission is to identify, motivate and validate the next generation of artists and writers. For more information about the Alliance, please visit www.artandwriting.org.

Contacts:
Scholastic
Jennifer boggs
212-343-6619
jboggs@scholastic.com