Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf is Co–Chief Executive Officer of PEN America, which she joined in 2015. She previously served as Chief Program Officer for Literary Programming, overseeing the curation, execution, and strategic direction of programs and initiatives that celebrate literary excellence and literature in translation, support incarcerated and emerging writers, and showcase contemporary American and international authors at PEN America’s flagship events.
Rosaz Shariyf previously worked at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, where she directed a year-round program of panel discussions, performances, film screenings, and symposia examining the history and culture of the global Black experience. She produced conversations on contemporary social justice issues with leading writers, artists, and scholars and led the center’s public programming strategy for audience development, public engagement, and community partnerships.
Her prior professional appointments include positions at Bates College in Maine. She serves on the Literary Council of the Brooklyn Book Festival and is a member of the LitNet Steering Committee. Rosaz Shariyf 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. Originally from Martinique, she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.