Ortiz, Sara, 1984-

Sara Ortiz is the program and festival director of The Believer magazine and Black Mountain Institute. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas where her Salvadoran parents settled, though led a “nomadic” life within Austin. Her mother was a housekeeper and her father worked several jobs to care for their family. Within that loving family, Sara cultivated a love of storytelling from an early age.

After graduating from St. Edwards University in Austin, she was accepted into the Columbia Publishing Course—an intensive summer course offered by Columbia University’s School of Journalism. Prior to The Believer, she worked for literary institutions such as McNally Jackson Books, Scholastic Inc.; Disney Publishing Worldwide, and Penguin Random House. She has strived to incorporate the Las Vegas landscape into the Believer Festival, the literary festival produced by UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute.