Capital J Mainstage: Bess Kalb

Bess Kalb is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and the New York Times bestselling author of Nobody Will Tell You This But Me, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and the children’s book series Buffalo Fluffalo. She wrote for eight years for Jimmy Kimmel Live!; has written for the Emmy Awards, the Academy Awards, the Democratic National Convention; and has contributed to The New Yorker and This American Life. She is head writer and executive producer of the Writers Guild Award–nominated Yearly Departed, an Amazon comedy special, and is adapting Nobody Will Tell You This But Me into a feature film with Sight Unseen Pictures. She lives with her husband and two children in New York.

Lauren Eskovitz is Senior Director of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Programs at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center, where she has spent the last eight years doing what she loves most: bringing people together. With a career that has taken her from the Folger Shakespeare Library to DC Public Schools, and a Master’s in Drama and Theater for Youth from UT Austin, Lauren has spent two decades building programs that matter. She is passionate about creating spaces where parents can remember they are full human beings who exist outside of the school pickup line — building genuine community and connection for families at every stage. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband, two daughters, and Peggy, a dog of moderate temperament and significant personal power.