Aaron Samuels is a Cave Canem fellow and author of the book Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps. An alumnus of the Providence Youth Poetry Slam, he has coached youth poets in Providence, Boston, and DC. He is the founder of WU-SLam, a collegiate literary organization at Washington University in St. Louis.

Fatimah Asghar is a poet and essayist. While on a Fulbright grant studying art and memorialization, she founded Bosnia and Herzegovina's first bilingual spoken word poetry group. Published in numerous journals, she was a multicultural fellow at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.

Nate Marshall has been a teaching artist with InsideOut Detroit and Southern Word. He is an assistant poetry editor for Muzzle magazine. Apart from being a rapper, he is also a Young Chicago Authors alumnus and advises them on outreach and curriculum.

Franny Choi is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer and community organizer. She is the coordinator for Providence Poetry Slam’s Youth Program, and her work has been published in numerous journals and been a finalist at the three most prestigious poetry slams in the U.S.