The Word is a transformative literary arts program powered by an intergenerational cooperative of diverse, justice-minded spoken word artists. The Word builds community by growing radically inclusive writing and performance programs grounded in poetry, rap, and song. Through its many partnerships, The Word brings a creative life force into social action groups, movements, and institutions – expanding our collective capacity to re-imagine ourselves and our world.
WHO WE
ARE
The Word is a spoken word poetry education program helping students learn to read, critique, write, and perform poetry created by New Haven hip hop poet & playwright Aaron Jafferis, in partnership with the Institute Library, the Future Project and New Haven Public Schools. The Word is celebrating its 13th year in 2025!
We work with middle school and high school students across the city of New Haven from over 8 different schools.
Yexandra "Yex" Diaz
Artistic Director
Hailing from New Haven by way of Chicago, Yexandra "Yex" Diaz is an award-winning poet, community leader, and nationally recognized social justice advocate whose work lives at the intersection of art, education and culture. With a voice rooted in truth and transformation, she has spent over a decade using poetry to amplify lived experiences and spark dialogue that creates awareness.
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She has graced stages from the historic Shubert Theatre to the August Wilson Cultural Center, touring and opening for icons such as 2x Grammy Award Winner J. Ivy. A Last Poets Legacy Member, multi-regional slam champion and former member who helped lead the Connecticut Slam Team to its recent Championship, Yex’s voice moves with urgency, tenderness, and fire.
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Offstage, Yex serves as Development Manager at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven and as an Air Collaborative Facilitator with the Connecticut Office of the Arts, working to amplify local creative economies. Her commitment to arts education has led her to serve as a visiting instructor at public and private institutions statewide such as UConn and Trinity College.
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JENNY (JHD) HEIKKILA DÍAZ
Project Coordinator
Jenny (JHD) Heikkila Díaz (they/she) was born and raised in Los Ángeles. Witnessing their family’s immigration experiences and the LA Civil Uprising of 1992 seeded JHD’s desire to coalition build within their own Korean American and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and across communities of color.
For almost twenty-five years, JHD has worked as a K-12 public school teacher, school administrator, and educator coach, co-creating classrooms and school communities where students see their families and themselves reflected and valued and where they learn about others’ cultures and communities. They have done this work with thousands of students, families, and educators in Baltimore, South (Central) LA, Long Beach (CA), Echo Park, Queens, and across CT.
They are the CT Council for the Social Studies Professional Learning Coordinator and a Program Officer at Fund for Teachers. They also facilitate statewide teacher communities of practice as an Anti-Racist Teaching & Learning Collective Steering Committee Member (for educators of color), and as an Activist in Residence with the UConn Asian and Asian American Studies Institute (supporting K-12 CT teachers with integrating AAPI studies into their curriculum). They are a New Havener, a co-founder of aapiNHV, Co-Chair of the Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT, an Abolitionist Teaching Network Grant Recipient, and most importantly, a parent of two elementary-aged children. Their lifelong commitment is to backing youth, who envision an even more joyful and just world than they do.
ELIZABETH POSEY
Managing Director​
Beth has been dedicated to nonprofit work since 2001, bringing her passion for arts education and a wealth of experience to The Word. She holds an MBA, an MS in Research and Statistics, a graduate certificate in Marketing, and a BA in Psychology. She is a Board-Certified Human Services Practitioner. Through her nonprofit work she has developed expertise in grant administration, budgeting, reporting, compliance, process creation, operational management, program creation, mentorship and staff development. Her professional journey spans work with diverse populations, from young children to older adults, through crisis social work, case management, in-home therapy, and working with youth in schools and within communities. Beth’s background includes both project and program management. In addition, she has executive leadership experience through roles such as Executive Director, Senior Program Director and Operations Manager.
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In addition to her nonprofit work, Beth is an abstract artist. Her paintings have been exhibited at The Hill Blocks View event in New Haven on International Women’s Day presented by Nasty Women Connecticut, annually at the Unveiling Courage gala for The Center for Family Justice, Inc. in Bridgeport, CT, Pancakes and Booze in Pittsburgh, PA, and in multiple shows at Las Laguna Art Gallery in California. Outside of her professional and artistic pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Athena and Ares.
AARON JAFFERIS
Founder
Aaron Jafferis is a hip-hop poet and playwright whose honors include a Creative Capital Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Sundance Institute / Time Warner Fellowship, NEFA National Theatre Project Grant, and multiple MacDowell Fellowships.
His musicals Stuck Elevator, How to Break, Kingdom, Shakespeare: The Remix and No Lie have been produced by The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Collective Consciousness and many others. A former Open Rap Slam champion at the National Poetry Slam Championships, Aaron teaches at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital and in middle schools and high schools in and around his hometown of New Haven. He has led poetry and hip-hop theatre workshops and master classes at Connecticut College, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Virginia Tech, the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Breadloaf, Vermont’s Governor’s Institute on the Arts, Wesleyan’s Center for Creative Youth, the Dublin (CA) Federal Correctional Institution and dozens of other educational, healthcare, and correctional institutions. More at aaronjafferis.com.