Effective July 16, Jennifer Benka is becoming executive director of the Academy of American Poets. She was most recently national director of development and marketing for 826 National in San Francisco, Calif. Earlier she was managing director of Poets & Writers. She is also a poet and has published two collections--Pinko (Hanging Loose Press) and A Box of Longing With Fifty Drawers (Soft Skull Press).
"American poetry tells the story of our country in unique and powerful ways," Benka said. "I'm honored to lead the Academy and to work with poets, readers, and educators to deepen our engagement with an art form that speaks to the human experience like no other."
Benka replaces Tree Swenson, who resigned earlier this year after a decade in the post to become executive director of the Richard Hugo House in Seattle, Wash.