Elly is a trans nonbinary New York-based award-winning journalist and communications strategist with a passion for advocacy, culture, and media’s impact on marginalized people. Their focus is on advocacy-centered creative work, and driving conversations that positively change the way we treat each other and ourselves. Alongside their writing and journalism career, in the last ten years they have worked at as well as consulted organizations focused on social change and human rights or organizations looking to grow their positive impact on systemically-harmed people.

Born with multiple disabilities—including being autistic and partially Deaf—accessibility, anti-ableism, and disability justice are all a profoundly crucial part of Elly’s work. In addition, Elly does all of their work, whether creatively or community organizing-wise, through a transformative justice and abolitionist lens.

Elly can often be found drinking intense amounts of tea and attempting to read five books at once while still petting their cat, or spending time at their friends’ apartments cooking them soup, or weeping over a good Richard Siken or Anis Mojgani poem. They also enjoy writing music and lyrics on piano and guitar, and foraging for mushrooms. Ask them about mycelium networks (they dare you, if you want a three hour lecture). While Elly primarily works in digital media consulting, writing, and producing, they feel their most important community role is being a person who forages for hope everywhere. Elly is always seeking new opportunities to tell stories with a hopeful undertone, in all mediums. They are currently in the process of writing and editing five manuscripts across genres including poetry, nonfiction, and speculative dystopian sci-fi emotional thriller—and producing three queer horror movies.

When scrolling their Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram, bear in mind: they are either being completely earnest or shitposting to hell. Good luck figuring out which at any given moment.

More about Elly’s work:

Although Elly’s primary work once rooted in only journalistic writing, cultural critique and personal essays, they’ve now ventured into the podcast and screenwriting/film production space. Their most recent projects include hosting Feelings Soup, where they have radically honest conversations about feelings, mental health, and intimate relationships through a transformative justice lens, and producing scalped!, an indie queer film a la Jennifer’s Body meets Heathers. They are also currently in the process of writing five books, including a memoir and their debut poetry collection. Elly is represented by Mina Hamedi at Janklow & Nesbit.

Elly has done narrative work, crisis communications response, creative work and consulting for organizations including The National Center for Lesbian Rights, The Human Rights Campaign, LAIKA Studios, Adobe, Taco Bell, WhatIf! Innovations, Microsoft Education, Advil, Snapchat, Included Health, The Forum for Youth Investment and SparkAction, PEN America, Camino Public Relations, Planned Parenthood, SEPA Mujer, The Fresh Air Fund, and more.

When writing and reporting, they are most passionate about disability justice and autistic advocacy, the psychology of popular culture, mental health, women’s rights, reproductive health, youth development, juvenile justice and the effects of incarceration, stories about the queer community, and the intersection of all of the above. They’re extremely motivated to use strategic communications and storytelling to spread hope but most importantly to make meaningful material differences.

From 2021 to mid-2022, Elly led communications at the LGBTQ+ product at Included Health, helping queer and trans people to access life-saving and affirming care.

From 2019 through 2021, Elly worked as a feature and news writer for Refinery29, helping to build and shape the vertical, inform social strategy on Instagram and Twitter, and reported and wrote on identity, mental health, labor, and abolitionist movement work. In 2018, Elly was a regular contributor in Teen Vogue partnering to shape the foundations of the now groundbreaking Identity vertical, covering mental health, reproductive rights, intimate relationships.

Elly helped launch and worked as the fellow for In Surreal Life (a portable poetry school initiative) managing and curating social media in addition to creating content for the course and leading community engagement and development.

From 2017 to 2020, Elly was the newsletter editor for the acclaimed animation site The Dot and Line, as well as a regular contributor. Elly regularly writes for outlets including Teen Vogue, SELF Magazine, XTRA, and more.