Rena Priest (pictured above) is a citizen of the Lhaq’temish [Lummi] Nation. In a historic appointment, Priest became Washington State’s sixth Poet Laureate (2021–2023), the first Indigenous person to hold the position. In this role, she championed poetry that celebrated the ecological gifts of her ancestral homelands. She is an Academy of American Poets Fellow, a Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writer, and a winner of a Washington State Book Award for poetry. Her new essay collection, Positively Uncivilized, was published as the winner of the 2025 Keepers of the Fire Award from Raven Chronicles Press. She is also honored to be a Seattle City of Literature grantee, selected to participate in an international literary exchange co-sponsored by the Melbourne City of Literature and the UNESCO City of Literature Network. She is published widely online and in print. Learn more at renapriest.com

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Darrell Hillaire, also known by his Native name Tse-sum-ten, is the executive director of Children of the Setting Sun Productions, an Indigenous-led nonprofit that focuses on cultural education and environmental justice through film, podcasting, and other forms of storytelling.

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Anna Booker is a History Adjunct Faculty member at Whatcom Community College (WCC) specializing in public history, digital mapping, and the Salish Sea. She is known for creating community-based projects, including a digital history of Bellingham Bay and research on Lummi Aquaculture, often funded by grants from the NEH and Gates Foundation.

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Caskey Russell is a professor in Fairhaven College. He received his BA and MA in English from Western Washington University. Caskey received his PhD in English from the University of Oregon in 2001. Caskey is an enrolled member of the Tlingit tribe of Alaska. He teaches courses in poetry, songwriting, and literature. He is the author of The Door on the Sea, the first novel in a fantasy series titled "The Raven and Eagle Series.”