Teachers

Kevin O’Rourke lives in Seattle, where he works in tech and writes about health. His first book, the essay collection As If Seen at an Angle, was published by Tinderbox Editions; he is currently working on several follow-up projects, including a book about surviving suicide. Other writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Kenyon Review, and Think Global Health, among others. Learn more at kforourke.com.

Co-owner of Speculatively Queer, Isabela Oliveira has been a professional editor for years, from technical documents to pop culture content. While attending college, she kept busy as the poetry editor and later the editor-in-chief of her university’s literary journal, the Salmon Creek Journal. Isabela started speaking on panels at fan conventions in 2016 and has been at it ever since. These days, she’s working as an editor by day, and an occasional podcast co-host, a crafter and maker, and an aspiring voice actress in her free time.

Nikkita Oliver (they/them) is a Seattle-based creative, community organizer, abolitionist, educator, and attorney. Working at the intersections of arts, law, education, and community organizing Nikkita strives to create experiences which draw us closer to our humanity and invites us to imagine what we hope to see in the future.

Nikkita has opened for Cornel West and Chuck D of Public Enemy, featured on the Breakfast Club, KUOW's The Week in Review, Cut Stories, and performed on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert. Nikkita's writing has been published in the South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, the Establishment, Last Real Indians, The Seattle Weekly, and The Stranger. Nikkita organizes with No New Youth Jail, Decriminalize Seattle, Covid-19 Mutual Aid – Seattle, and the Seattle Peoples Party.

Nikkita is the executive director of Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration and a healing engaged youth-led community-based program.

Nikkita was the first political candidate of the Seattle Peoples Party running for Mayor of Seattle in 2017 narrowly missing the general election by approximately 1,100 votes; coming in third of 21 candidates.

Nikkita speaks and performs for events, at universities and conferences, and facilitates trainings on equity, law and justice, education, and arts activism all over the United States.

Follow on IG and Twitter @nikkitaoliver

Clara Olivo (she/her/ella) is an Afro-Salvi poet living in diaspora. Born and raised in South Central L.A. to Salvadorean refugees, Clara weaves history and lived experience, creating transcendental poetry that amplifies ancestral power and pride. Writing for her lost inner child, Clara steps into her poetry with the intention of healing the hurts of her past and inspiring hope for the future. Since finding her voice, she has performed in open mics and art receptions from Seattle to Washington D.C., is a 2022 Pushcart nominee and has been featured in publications such as The South Seattle Emerald, Valiant Scribe, and Quiet Lightning’s Literary Mixtape.

Matthew Olzmann is the author of Constellation Route and two previous collections of poems. He teaches at Dartmouth College and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

Sara Marie Ortiz is a Seattle-based writer of creative nonfiction, poetry, and mixed-genre work. She is an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Acoma, a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (BFA in creative writing) and Antioch University Los Angeles (MFA in creative writing). She has studied formally writing, law, Native studies, theater, and film. She has published widely, has been featured in such publications as the Kenyon Review, the Florida Review, Ploughshares, and she has presented widely from her beloved birthplace in New Mexico, throughout the Pacific Northwest, and all the way to Johannesburg, South Africa. Sara Marie is also a passionate Native educator and advocate in the realm of Native arts, culture, literature, tribal languages, education, and community. She currently serves as the Native Education Program Manager for Highline Public Schools in Burien, Washington, loves watching movies and listening to all kinds of music (especially chilled electronic, old timey blue grass, neo-Americana, folk, and hip hop), and has a fluffy orange cat named Mr. Pickles.

Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta (he/him/his) is from Sammamish, WA and is studying Theatre and History at Northwestern University. When not on-stage, Esteban can be found writing and recording original music with his band not alone, catching up on cartoons, perusing vinyl shops, or just sitting outside under the sun. 

The grandson of Filipino immigrants and the great-grandson of Japanese immigrants, Troy Osaki is a poet, organizer, and attorney. Osaki is a three-time grand slam poetry champion and has earned fellowships from Kundiman, Hugo House, and Jack Straw Cultural Center. He was awarded a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry fellowship from the Poetry Foundation in 2022. A 2022-2023 Critic-at-Large for Poetry Northwest, his poetry has appeared in Crazyhorse, the Margins, Muzzle Magazine, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Seattle University School of Law where he interned at Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration for youth in King County. He lives in Seattle, WA. 

Jéhan Òsanyìn (they/them) is a somatic abolitionist and futurist facilitator who is also an Equity actor and Gregory Award nominated playwright. They studied theatre in Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil and Venezuela. Jéhan produces their art through their experimental experiential art studio, earthseed, where studio research and performance explores the stories our bodies tell with and without our consent. Earthseed offers individual coaching, workshops, and lots of opportunities to investigate racialized identity development through experiential education and liberation.

Madeline Ostrander is an environmental journalist, nonfiction writer, and author of At Home on an Unruly Planet. The former senior editor of YES! Magazine, her work has appeared in the NewYorker.com, The Nation, Sierra Magazine, and numerous other outlets.