Hedgebrook
Kimberly A.C. Wilson
Hedgebrook
We are proud to share that our partners at Hedgebrook announced, after an extensive nationwide search, its choice of Kimberly A.C. Wilson as its next executive director.
Wilson brings a passion for literature and more than 25 years of experience in journalism, communications and philanthropy. “It is with great pleasure that we name Kimberly A.C. Wilson as Hedgebrook’s new executive director,” said Board President Sarah Ladipo Manyika. “Her skills and experience as a writer, transformative communicator and seasoned organizational leader, paired with a deep commitment to radical hospitality, racial equity and social justice are exactly what Hedgebrook needs to envision the next arc of our mission and impact in the world.”
Born in St. Louis, Mo., and raised in France, Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland, Wilson holds a Master of Arts in 19th century literature (with an emphasis on Caribbean literature) from the University of Virginia. She is also a proud graduate of Hampton University, a historically Black college in Virginia. Prior to accepting the executive director position at Hedgebrook, Wilson served as the communications director for Meyer Memorial Trust, one of the largest private foundations in Oregon, with assets over $880 million. During a journalism career spanning two decades and criss-crossing the country, Wilson worked as a beat reporter, investigative journalist, foreign correspondent and disaster storyteller at The Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Oregonian. In pursuit of the whole story, she followed President Bill Clinton on his pre-dawn jogs, scrambled up Mount Rainier to catalogue a century of deaths on the glacier, crouched in a tiny urban cornfield to listen to men who gardened in the shadow of Baltimore's ancient prisons and cooked for rescue workers after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Both roles rooted Wilson in the power of storytelling.
A powerful writer in her own right, her vision is fueled by her passion for Hedgbrook's mission: to support visionary women writers whose ideas and stories shape our culture today and for generations to come.
Since 1988, Hedgebrook has welcomed more than 2,000 writers from across the globe to live and write on Whidbey Island, creating thousands of screenplays, novels, poems, memoirs, songs, plays and works of nonfiction. Many writers are emerging when they go to Hedgebrook and go on to become best-selling and award-winning authors. Their alumnae include many well-known names, from Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo to journalist-activist Gloria Steinem, Pulitzer Prize-winner Dael Orlandersmith and best-selling author Ijeoma Oluo. Their writing residencies, virtual workshops, online classes, salons and public programs connect writers with readers and audiences around the world. It isn’t hyperbole to say that millions of people have experienced the works imagined in its cozy cottages, amidst Hedgebrook’s legendary, radical hospitality.
Wilson is excited to helm an organization with a rich history of actively valuing writers. “Hedgebrook is an ecosystem for women with stories to tell,” she said. “It has never felt more urgent to listen to women, particularly writers who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color. I relish the opportunity to work with Hedgebrook’s committed staff, dedicated board, loyal alumnae and talented and creative advisory council to set the table for the next chapter of bold, radical spacemaking.” Wilson will officially join Hedgebrook on March 1. She succeeds Interim Executive Director Elise Miller, who has led Hedgebook for the past year with skill, grace and heart through a challenging chapter during the COVID-19 pandemic.