• Read more about Empress J

Empress J is a quadruple threat in the entertainment industry. She is a singer, writer, dancer, and actress/producer. Empress founded and is the CEO of Healing Out Loud Theatre & TV Productions, Island Fete Fitness Dance Company, and Empress J Music.   She is CEO and Co-Founder of the AfriCaribbean Festival an international project bringing together the Caribbean and African Cultures. She has tackled the music industry, as well as the poetry scene.

• Read more about Mark Peria

Mixed Media artist focused on painting and graphic arts.

• Read more about Ashley Elizabeth

Ashley Elizabeth (she/her) is a Baltimore-based poet and winner of the 2024 Garden Party Collective Chapbook Contest. She is a Pushcart-nominated writer and educator whose work has appeared in SWWIM, Voicemail Poems, Rigorous, and Sage Cigarettes, among others. She is the author of four chapbooks, including red line and CHARM(ed). Her debut full-length, A Family Thing, is out now from ELJ Editions. Find her on IG and Twitter @ae_thepoet or her website aetheblkpoet.com Ashley lives with her parter and her cats. Note: Ashley is Black before she is anything else.   

• Read more about Dr. Nicole Better-Green

My name is Dr. Nicole, and I am an author, educator and literary coach. I have a doctoral degree from George Mason University in Education. I am also the author of two books and a collection of poems. My books are inspiring stories about overcoming difficult circumstances.

• Read more about Saz Ross

Saz's expertise rests in providing creative breakthroughs with visual storytelling workshops and captivating keynotes on how everyone is creative. Most commonly, people are not inclined to view themselves as such, thus building barriers for innovative thinking. In response, Saz provides an impactful skillset for thinking differently by exposing techniques that allows one to feel confident and connected to a purpose that unearths an unstoppable creative edge. 🌿