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Ruth Dickey

Ruth Dickey is the executive director of the National Book Foundation and has spent more than twenty-five years working at the intersection of community building, writing, and art. Prior to the Foundation, she served as executive director of Seattle Arts & Lectures. A builder and believer in big dreams, Dickey has had the pleasure of leading organizations in Washington, DC, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Seattle to dramatically expand their community impact. Dickey holds an MFA in poetry from UNC-Greensboro, a BS in foreign service, and an MA in Latin American studies from Georgetown University. She was a 2017 fellow with the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program and served as a judge in fiction for the 2019 National Book Awards.