"Deborah Epstein is co-founder and Founding Executive Director of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, a local community arts organization that publishes the Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT), which she edited from 1996 to 2002. During Epstein's tenure, JOT won two Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards. Epstein was included in Today's Chicago Woman's "100 Women Making a Difference in 2000" for her work with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance. She served on the Illinois Arts Council Literary Review Panel from 2000 to 2003. She is a consultant to not-for-profit organizations. Prior to founding NWA, Epstein was president of a small corporate communications consulting firm for eight years. From 1978 to 1986, she worked in the administration of the University of Chicago. Epstein received a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago."