Meet your Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leaders!

Melissa Lozada-Oliva (Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leader)

Melissa Lozada-Oliva is Guatelombian (Guatemalan-Colombian) American poet, novelist, and screenwriter living in Brooklyn by way of Massachusetts. Her book peluda (Button Poetry 2017) explores the intersections of Latina identity, feminism, hair removal & what it means to belong. Her most recent book Dreaming of You is a novel-in-verse about bringing Selena back to life through a seance & the disastrous consequences that follow. She is the co-host of podcast Say More with Olivia Gatwood where they dissect the world through a poetic lens. Her work has been featured in REMEZCLA, PAPER, The Guardian, BreakBeat Poets, Kenyon Review, Vulture, Bustle, Glamour Magazine, The Huffington Post, Muzzle Magazine, The Adroit Journal, and BBC Mundo!

Danielle Barnhart (Workshop Leader)

Dani Barnhart (she/they) is a writer, editor, educator, & media manager. Co-editor of the anthology, Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism, and cofounder of the literary organization Village of Crickets, Dani works with writers, artists, and cultural institutions, with clients ranging from award-winning authors to environmental organizations. Dani also teaches creative writing at Adelphi University.

Jan-Henry Gray (Poetry Day Chair and Workshop Leader)

Jan-Henry Gray is the author of Documents, selected by D.A. Powell as the winner of BOA Editions’ Poulin Poetry Prize, and the chapbook Selected Emails. He’s received an inaugural Undocupoets Fellowship, a Cooke Foundation Graduate Arts Award, and is a Kundiman Fellow. He was born in the Philippines, raised in California, and worked as a chef for over 12 years. Currently, Jan is an Assistant Professor at Adelphi University in New York, where he serves as the Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program.

Danielle Khoury (Workshop Leader)

Danielle Khoury graduated from Molloy College with a Bachelor’s in Social Work. During her time at Molloy, Danielle held multiple leadership positions such as Class President on Student Government, President of the Performing Arts Club, Student Ambassador and Orientation Leader to name a few. Danielle works closely with first-year and transfer students, while currently working towards her Masters at Adelphi University in the Psychology-Human Resource Concentration program. She is currently an Assistant Director of Admissions in the Office of University Admissions at Adelphi University.