Hollyn’s deep compassion for others is what led her to found a Social Impact Book Club in 2020, when she was a 4th grader at UCLA Lab School. This planted the seeds for launching Stories Without Borders as a student-led organization in 2023, with a mission of using the power of stories and service to build connection, empathy and understanding around the world. Her newly launched Stories Without Borders podcast features interviews with authors, artists, and advocates who embody the SWB mission.
Whether she's immersed in a good book or expressing herself through art, Hollyn's goal is always clear: to amplify stories that foster empathy and inspire solutions to social issues. Through her Stories Without Borders service projects, podcast and educational resources, Hollyn is determined to use her platform to bring together people of different backgrounds and build understanding about our common humanity.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Hollyn Alpert
Hollyn is a trilingual bibliophile, passionate community-builder, high school student and multidisciplinary storyteller with a love for creative writing, playing piano and guitar, songwriting, acting, drawing and painting. Her writing and artwork have won multiple Scholastic Gold Keys, the Society of Young Inklings Book Contest, and the Skipping Stones Magazine Youth Honor Award. Her work has also been published in Stone Soup Magazine and Little Thoughts Press. Hollyn works part-time at a local indie bookstore in LA, and she is an intern with the Youth Media Representation Program at the UCLA Center for Scholars and Storytellers, where she conducts research related to different aspects of youth representation in film, TV and other media.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Hollyn Alpert
Hollyn is a trilingual bibliophile, passionate community-builder, high school student and multidisciplinary storyteller with a love for creative writing, playing piano and guitar, songwriting, acting, drawing and painting. Her writing and artwork have won multiple Scholastic Gold Keys, the Society of Young Inklings Book Contest, and the Skipping Stones Magazine Youth Honor Award. Her work has also been published in Stone Soup Magazine and Little Thoughts Press. Hollyn works part-time at a local indie bookstore in LA, and she is an intern with the Youth Media Representation Program at the UCLA Center for Scholars and Storytellers, where she conducts research related to different aspects of youth representation in film, TV and other media.
Hollyn’s deep compassion for others is what led her to found a Social Impact Book Club in 2020, when she was a 4th grader at UCLA Lab School. This planted the seeds for launching Stories Without Borders as a student-led organization in 2023, with a mission of using the power of stories and service to build connection, empathy and understanding around the world. The Stories Without Borders podcast will launch in September 2025 and features interviews with authors, artists, and advocates who embody the SWB mission.
Whether she's immersed in a good book or expressing herself through art, Hollyn's goal is always clear: to amplify stories that foster empathy and inspire solutions to social issues. Through her Stories Without Borders service projects, podcast and educational resources, Hollyn is determined to use her platform to bring together people of different backgrounds and build understanding about our common humanity.