Championing Stories, Service, and Students: A Conversation with Our Newest Board Members
We’re thrilled to welcome two inspiring new members to 826LA’s Board of Directors: Jaya Hathaway and Stacey Han Williams. Both bring with them not only impressive professional experience but also deeply personal connections to education, storytelling, and community service.
Jaya and Stacey each discovered 826LA through our annual Changing the Story gala, and their excitement for our mission was immediate. From family legacies of advocacy and service to careers shaping narratives and creating opportunities, they embody the values at the heart of 826LA: empowering young people to write boldly, think critically, and dream big.
We sat down with Jaya and Stacey to learn more about their journeys, their passions, and what excites them most about joining the 826LA community.
Jaya Hathaway
1. What was your favorite book or story as a child?
Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales
2. If you could time-travel with the 826LA Time Travel Mart, what era would you want to visit and why?
The 1950s, for sure! It was such a hopeful and defining time in our history. I would have loved to be in the audience at American Bandstand and to have witnessed the birth of rock and roll. I have also read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe more times than I can count!
3. Do you remember the first piece of writing you ever felt proud of?
When I was 12, my English teacher, Mrs. Mjannes had us read, summarize, and illustrate our interpretations of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. My “book” was displayed in our school library, and I think I got my first A+. The book now lives on my bedside table!
4. Your grandmother helped many patients alongside her older sister, founding one of the first women’s hospitals in Hyderabad, India, at a time when very few women were practicing medicine. How has their legacy of service influenced the way you approach your own philanthropy and community involvement today?
My approach is rooted in authenticity and humility. I care deeply, am always listening and learning, and believe in the strength of community impact. I am fortunate for the countless role models in my family who have taught me to champion for causes I am passionate about.
5. As the mom of a budding writer, what has it been like to watch your daughter discover her voice and grow in confidence through writing?
It’s pure magic :-)
6. You’ve given your time and leadership to organizations like Make-A-Wish, school fundraising, and young alumni groups. What excited you most about bringing your experience to 826LA’s mission?
826LA’s mission resonates in both my personal and professional life. This is unique and exciting. Having three children in the 8-16 age range, and working with talented young professionals, I can see the critical importance of the mission today and in the future. I’m thrilled to have the chance to further 826LA’s mission and strategic goals.
Stacey Han Williams
1. What was your favorite book or story as a child?
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Silverstein had a way of taking the everyday and flipping it into something funny, absurd, or wonderfully imaginative. It taught me that words are flexible tools that can be used to build entirely new realities.
2. If you could time-travel with the 826LA Time Travel Mart, what era would you want to visit and why?
I’d want to visit Los Angeles in the early 2000s, when I was about the age of many of our middle school students. That era was the cusp of a major technological and cultural shift. I grew up with dial-up internet and then lived through the rise of social media and the digital world that completely reshaped how I interacted with and used information. I would love to have been a student in the 826LA workshops then, knowing what I know now, to observe how those young writers were processing the explosion of information and the new ways to share their voices. More importantly, I’d like to tell them that the ability to write clearly and persuasively will be the most valuable skill in a that fast-changing future.
3. Do you remember the first piece of writing you ever felt proud of?
The first piece of writing I felt truly proud of was my high school college essay. It was the first time I fully explored my family’s history - the story of my parents’ divorce and the journey my family took coming to America from Korea in pursuit of a better life. Writing that essay was intensely personal; it was a process of healing from the pain of the divorce, but it also became an act of self-discovery. By putting those experiences on a page, I realized how much resilience was woven into my own story and how deeply rooted I was in an entrepreneurial family built on hope.
4. You’ve led marketing efforts for major companies like Google and Neutrogena, shaping powerful and inclusive narratives. How do you imagine applying those storytelling skills to support 826LA’s growth and visibility?
My experiences at Google and Neutrogena taught me that strong storytelling centers on a person’s unique experience. For 826LA, that means continuing to highlight the direct, life-changing impact of writing and how 826LA can help transform the trajectory of a student’s life. Giving them the power to express themselves and communicate clearly is an essential skill they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives. I would love to continue helping 826LA showcase students’ newfound confidence and voice, not just the writing program itself.
5. As the daughter of Korean immigrants who valued education as a way to unlock opportunities, what do you hope 826LA students take away from their time with us that mirrors or builds on your own family’s story?
My parents saw education as the ultimate key to opportunity. What I hope that 826LA students take away mirrors that value, but with an important update: I want them to realize that their unique voice is their greatest asset. Growing up in a Korean household, hard skills were a big focus. I want our students to leave knowing that while academic proficiency is essential, it’s the specific way they tell their story - the nuanced perspective of their Korean-American, Latino, or Angeleno experience - that gives them power. I want them to realize they don’t have to fit into a pre-written narrative; they can use their own words to author their future. If they can dream it, they can write it. If they write it, they can believe it. If they believe it, they can do it. And they can inspire others along the way.
6. As both a professional storyteller and a mom of two young daughters, what excites you most about helping Los Angeles students find and share their voices through 826LA?
What excites me most is helping students move from being consumers of stories to creators of them. As a mom, I see my daughters use their voices to demand information from technology. This generation knows how to consume media. As a professional, I know the real power comes from learning how to be the source - to move from consuming content to creating a narrative. It’s incredibly important for students across Los Angeles to learn how to use technology as a tool and find the right balance in consuming media in a healthy and beneficial way. I’m excited to help 826LA be the essential place where students learn the practical and creative skills to take ideas in their heads and confidently share them with the world - throughout every chapter of life. It’s about building a generation of students who don’t wait for permission to speak, but who already know they have a story worth telling.
