Moderator: Dr. Celeste Guzmán Mendoza is the author of Beneath the Halo (Wings Press, 2013), and the chapbook, Cande te estoy llamando (Wings Press, 1999). Her work has appeared in Entre Guadalupe and Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art (University of Texas Press: 2016) and ¡Floricanto Sí!: U.S. Latina Poetry (Penguin:1998), among others. She is a co-founder of CantoMundo, a literary community of Latinx poets, and co-directed the organization with Dr. Deborah Paredez for ten years. She also is a Macondista and Hedgebrook resident. She holds a PhD from the Program of Higher Education Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Austin, an MFA in Poetry from Bennington College, and a BA in English Literature and Theatre from Barnard College.

Willie Perdomo is the author of The Crazy Bunch, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), Smoking Lovely (winner of the PEN Open Book Award), and Where a Nickel Costs a Dime (a finalist for the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award). His work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Poetry, The Best American Poetry 2019, and African Voices. He teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Deborah Paredez is the author of the poetry volumes, This Side of Skin and Year of the Dog, and the critical study, Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory. She is an associate professor at Columbia University and cofounder of CantoMundo, a national organization for Latinx poets.

Denice Frohman is an award-winning poet, performer and educator. She is a CantoMundo Fellow, former Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion and Leeway Transformation Award recipient. Her work has appeared in Nepantla: An Anthology for Queer Poets of Color, the Acentos Review, ESPNW, and more.