Jodi-Ann Burey (she/her) is a writer, critic, and sought-after speaker on race, culture, and health equity. She is the author of Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work. Her essays appear in various arts, business, and literary publications. Jodi-Ann created and hosts the prose and poetry salon and podcast Lit Lounge: The People’s Art. She was born in Jamaica, raised in New York City and now lives in Seattle.

Marcus Harrison Green is a storyteller, truth-seeker, and advocate for narratives that reflect the full depth of marginalized communities. As the publisher of Hinton Publishing, Founder of the South Seattle Emerald, a columnist for The Stranger,  and the cohost of the In The Meanwhile podcast, he has dedicated his life to reshaping the way stories are told about Black and brown communities. Born and raised in South Seattle, Marcus grew up witnessing the power and the harm of one-dimensional storytelling. He saw how communities like his were flattened into stereotypes, their voices lost in the margins. 

After an unfulfilling stint in the investment world, he walked away from corporate life with a renewed sense of purpose: to amplify the voices too often neglected and tell stories with the nuance, complexity, and humanity they deserve. That mission led him to found the South Seattle Emerald, a platform committed to journalism that is unapologetically community centered. As an award-winning journalist, Marcus has earned recognition for his fearless reporting and commitment to justice. He was named the Seattle Human Rights Commission’s “Individual Human Rights Leader” of 2020 and honored as the Northwest African American Museum’s inaugural James Baldwin Fellow in 2022. Through his writing and leadership, Marcus continues to challenge dominant narratives, uplift the voices of his people, and push journalism toward a more just and authentic future.

Robert Lashley was a 2016 Jack Straw Fellow, Artist Trust Fellow, and a nominee for a Stranger Genius Award. His books include Green River Valley (Blue Cactus Press, 2021), Up
South (Small Doggies Press, 2017), and The Homeboy Songs (Small Doggies Press, 2014). His poetry has appeared in The Seattle Review of Books, NAILED, Poetry Northwest, McSweeney’s, and The Cascadia Review, and recently, The Cascadia Field Guide, which has been on the bestseller list for 40 weeks. In 2019, Entropy Magazine named The Homeboy Songs one of the 25 essential books to come out of Seattle.( In 2024, his Novel, I Never Dreamed In Summer, was selected as a finalist for a Washington State Book Award)

vjaybombs is an anonymous street artist collective composed of filmmakers, cinematographers, and musicians. They specialize in creating dynamic visuals set to music, blending vibrant projections with urban environments using cinematic techniques. As Visual Jockeys (VJays), vjaybombs crafts immersive political commentary that pushes the boundaries of protest projections and performance art.

The collective describes themselves as filmmakers by trade, with guerrilla projection sitting at the intersection of their skill sets — documentary filmmaking, animation, and beyond. They began projecting in public spaces about ten years ago, initially with abstract visuals at large house parties, before turning to guerrilla projections as a form of peaceful protest in the lead-up to the 2024 election.