About 

Emma Cordray is a bilingual writer, teacher, director, and dramaturg who’s worked for NAMT, Pittsburgh CLO, Escuela JANA, and Signature Theatre. Emma was most recently a two-time Fulbright Scholar in Madrid, where her days teaching English and introducing Spanish teens to theater inspired her and writing partner Jimena Caballero to write stories for young people worldwide. In 2022-3, Emma led the Madrid Consejería de Educación’s Model UN Program across 144 schools for 8,500 students (in collaboration with Fulbright Spain, the US Embassy, and the British Council). Now, she continues teaching and empowering teens as a college essay coach.

Caballero & Cordray’s musical adaptation of "Esperanza Rising” (based on the beloved novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan) has been developed at the ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Librettist Workshop, the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project, and the Goodspeed Writers Grove. They are both winners of the 2024 ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award.​