Poets And artists
Our speakers are visionary authors and changemakers who can inspire your audience and help them navigate current issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) integration. They are advocates for the development of ethics in tech and offer impactful, practical visions for a more just and humane future. They don’t just raise awareness about AI, technology, power dynamics, and our future—they help build the roadmap forward.
Tony Keith Jr.
Award-winning Poet | Spoken Word Artist | Educational Leader and yA Author
PhD is an award-winning Black American gay poet, spoken word artist, and Hip-Hop educational leader from Washington DC. Or, you can just call him an “Ed Emcee”.
JOHN JENNINGS
#1 New York Times bestselling author | Award-winning graphic novelist | Harvard Fellow
John is the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color. His co-adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian novel The Parable of the Sower. As Professor of Media won the Hugo Award Winner for Best Graphic Story.
RAQUEL CEPEDA
Gloria Muñoz
Multilingual Literacy Advocate | Award-winning Poet and Author |St. Pete's first Latina poet laureate
As a Colombian-American, I speak and write because I can; I have a voice in a world where many people do not. Through my stories, I aim to illuminate the spaces between circumstance, culture, and gender for you and your community.
JOEL CHRISTIAN GILL
Award-winning, Bestselling Cartoonist and Illustrator | National Advocate for Sharing Stories
Artist and educator Joel Christian Gill is an award-winning cartoonist, historian, and author who has dedicated his life to creating stories to build connections with readers through empathy, compassion and, ultimately, humanity.
BRIDGETT M. DAVIS
HAFIZAH AUGUSTUS GETER
Nigerian-American poet| literary agent
Called "one of 2020's buzziest poets" by Marie Claire, Hafizah is the author of the debut poetry collection Un-American, nominated for a 2021 NAACP Image Award, a finalist for the 2021 PEN Open Book Award. Roxane Gay calls the poems "incisive" and "devastating."
Priya Huq
Bangladeshi Texan comic artist
Priya speaks widely on issues related to the comics industry, art, race, culture, identity and their intersections. In her talks, Priya focuses on practical advice for marginalized artists and cartoonists
Susan Abulhawa
Activist + Author + Filmmaker + Journalist
Award-winning journalist, cultural activist, podcaster, documentary filmmaker, and author, Raquel travels widely to speak to diverse audiences about Latina identity, social justice, gentrification and inequality.
award-winning memoirist and Filmmaker + Journalist + Advocate
Bridgett is the writer and director of the 1998 award-winning feature film Naked Acts, newly restored by Milestone Films and released in 2024 to critical acclaim, and screening in theaters across the US as well as international venues.
Palestinian writer + human rights activist + poet + Essayist
“I wrote poetry before I wrote anything else,” says Susan Abulhawa, esteemed Palestinian-American author and social activist, in the introduction to her first book of poems, My Voice Sought the Wind.