Merna Hecht, storyteller, poet, and essayist teaches creative writing and humanities at the University of Washington, Tacoma and directs the Stories of Arrival Poetry Project with immigrant and refugee youth. Her forthcoming book is on using storytelling and poetry with young people facing trauma and loss.

Hamdi Abdulle, Somali poet and scholar, directs Seattle’s Somali Youth and Family club. She spearheaded the acclaimed Community Café model. She is a leader in bringing about social change and strengthening families for East African communities and a dedicated advocate for human rights for refugees.

Marge Pellegrino is an award-winning writer and workshop facilitator who has provided writing and expressive arts workshops for children and caregivers of the incarcerated, refugee families impacted by torture, at-risk youth, youth in detention, Native American youth and elders, and mainstream folks.

J.L. Powers is the author of several young adult novels, including The Confessional, This Thing Called the Future, and most recently, Amina. She is also the editor of the anthologies That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone and Labor Pains and Birth Stories. She blogs at www.jlpowers.net.

Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the author of the young adult novels Gringolandia and Rogue. She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. The former editor of MultiCultural Review, she currently reviews books on social justice themes for The Pirate Tree and blogs at www.lynmillerlachmann.com.