Molly Pershin Raynor

Molly Pershin Raynor (she/her/hers) is a poet, educator, community builder, and momma to Malachi Moon. Her poetry has been featured on NPR and published in several literary magazines, including Vinyl, The Rumpus, Porkbelly Press, and Split Lip Magazine. 

Molly co-founded “RAW Talent” with Donté Clark, now the RYSE Center’s Performing Arts Program, which serves youth in Richmond, California. Her work is highlighted in the documentary film, "Romeo Is Bleeding" which was on Netflix. Molly won a Jefferson Award for Public Service and a Teachers 4 Social Justice Award for her work in the Bay Area. Six years ago, Molly moved home to Michigan, where she received her Master's in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University and co-founded “Staying Power,” a youth arts activism program (inspired by the Staying Power collective in Richmond, CA.) She is currently the Director of Community at 4.0 Schools.

Molly approaches her work from an intersectional feminist framework rooted in radical imagination and abolitionist pedagogy. She draws inspiration from Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Frida Khalo, and Paulo Freire and from the recipes, jokes, and legacy of her Jewish ancestors. Molly comes from a long line of storytellers and plumbers who taught her how to bend words and weld new worlds.