Deesha Philyaw

Deesha Philyaw is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer whose publication credits include Essence, Bitch, and Wondertime magazines, and The Washington Post.  Deesha’s writing has been anthologized in Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined (Seal Press), and Just Like a Girl: A Manifesta!(GirlChild Press). She is an adjunct professor in Chatham University’s Master’s of Professional Writing program, and she teaches adult writing classes at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

In addition to freelancing and teaching, Deesha is the co-founder, along with her ex-husband, of CoParenting101.org, a resource for parents striving to raise their children together, cooperatively, after divorce or separation.  She also writes a monthly column at AntiRacistParent.com, a website for parents committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook. Prior to these endeavors, for four years, Deesha wrote a monthly column that was in part based on her experiences as an adoptive mother, for LiteraryMama.com.

Deesha is the mother of two wonderful daughters, ages 5 and 10.  In her pre-mama, pre-writing life, Deesha worked briefly as a management consultant and as an elementary school teacher.