Recorded Monday, January 18, 2021

Daemond Arrindell (he/him) is a multi-genre writer, arts educator, performer, and arts & equity consultant. He has written for City Arts, Specter, Crosscut, Poetry NorthWest, and Seattle Review of Books, and self-published two chapbooks, “Hungry for the Word,” and “Mission Statement.” He is Adjunct Faculty at Seattle University; Faculty member of Freehold Theatre and co-facilitator of poetry and theater residencies at Monroe Correctional Complex for men; Senior Writer-In-Residence through Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools Program; a Jack Straw Writer and Writer’s program curator; and a VONA/Voices Writer’s Workshop fellow. In 2019, he performed his first one-man show, “Frozen Borders,” a performative exploration in imagery, poetry and emotion on the subject of the United States’ southern border.

Joana Chacon (she/her) has been an educator in Boston and Seattle for over 10 years. The daughter of activist Salvadoran immigrant parents, she was instilled with a strong sense of civic action. Joana worked as a Martinez Foundation Fellow, studying race and equity in schools in the company of educators of color. She applied her learning as an educator, teaching English, Spanish Literature, and Multicultural literature, and most recently, in her role as co-executive director of Newton South High School’s Human Rights Council. Last summer, with a team of educators from across the nation, Joana grassroots organized the National Educator Anti-Racism Conference which brought together educators from all 50 states and 24 countries for a week of content area-specific sessions led by antiracist scholars.

Dr. Bre Haizlip (she/her) is a powerful, transformative, and science-savvy empowerment speaker who believes that social healing is social justice. Lovingly called “Doc Bre” – she is an award-winning psychology professor, equity executive and thought leader in healing-centered social change. Her work emphasizes individual well-being as a catalyst for positive social change. As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), she specializes in individual and organizational transformation. Through her personal coaching, writings, podcasts, workshops or retreats, Dr. Bre emboldens participants to pause for presence, pursue peace and center wellness in all things.

Dakota Camacho (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist / researcher working in spaces of indigenous life ways, performance, musical composition, community engagement, and education. Camacho holds an MA in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in Gender & Women’s Studies as a First Wave Urban Arts and Hip Hop Scholar.

Stephanie Anne Johnson (they/them) is a singer/songwriter who can bring a crowded dive bar to a collective hush and also get one of the biggest audiences on the planet to a collective standing ovation. The front person for the Tacoma-based band, The Hidogs, can don a cowboy hat and sing over a slide as old timers weep. And they have wowed judges on the immensely popular NBC TV series, The Voice, showcasing their gifts.