IWF is excited to welcome Grace Bydalek as a visiting fellow. Grace’s passion for reporting is evident in her previous endeavors. Her insights and vast experience in capturing the power of real-life stories will significantly benefit the IW team.
Welcome, Grace!
Meet Grace below.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Grace Bydalek is a member of the Musical Theatre class of 2018 at the University of Michigan and a proud Wolverine.
She is the Director of the Dissident Project, a non-profit dedicated to educating American high schoolers against authoritarianism through the personal testimonies of young dissidents. Her writing has been featured in the National Review, Reason Magazine, the Conservateur, the New York Daily News, the Federalist, the American Spectator, the American Conservative, the Washington Examiner, Nebraska State Legislature and the UNL Board of Regents campaigns, among others. Bydalek also pens theatrical reviews for the New York Sun.
As a professional actor, she’s been featured in television shows including HBO’s High Maintenance. Her most recent performance highlights onstage are Juliet in Romeo + Juliet, Paulina in The Winter’s Tale, and Sunny in the workshop of James the Many (music by Air Supply). Her upcoming play about her grandfather is set to be workshopped this coming spring. Her favorite roles have been sister to Jack and daughter to Mike and Jill.
She is a 2021 graduate of the Gotham Fellowship, a yearlong theological fellowship examining faith, culture and work. She and designer Briar Figueroa are the winners of the 2021 Cultural Renewal Project Grant, with which they founded It Is Good: A Festival of Arts + Faith. She is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary, pursuing a Masters in Theology.