ABOUT

Dr. Adam Falkner (he/him) is a writer, performer & educator. His work focuses on intersectional themes of race, gender, queer life, and social justice education. He is the author of The Willies (Winner of the 2021 Midwestern Independent Book Award and a 2021 Foreword Reviews Gold Medal) and Adoption (Winner of the Diode Editions Chapbook Award), and his writing has been featured on programming for HBO, in The Guardian, The New York Times, and elsewhere. He has toured the United States as a guest artist, lecturer and trainer, and was the featured performer at President Obama’s Grassroots Ball at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.

Adam is a founding partner of the pioneering diversity consulting group, Dialogue Arts Project, and holds over a decade of cross-industry experience developing creative diversity curricula and programming for corporate, academic and nonprofit partners.  A former high school English teacher in New York City’s public schools, Adam’s teaching and research focus on understanding how elements of creativity, storytelling and play foster cultural competence in individuals and organizations. He is the Vice President of Design for The Pahara Institute — one of the nation’s foremost leadership development incubators & fellowship programs for senior leaders in education — and has held teaching and facilitation appointments at Columbia University, Vassar College, The Public Theater, Pinterest, The US National Park Service, and elsewhere. He holds a PhD in English & Education from Columbia University.