OUR SPEAKERS
Adrienne Oliver
Adrienne Oliver (she/her) is a poet, performer, public school educator, single mother, and a Black woman in each of those realities; her work is to become a worthy ancestor. She curates and hosts the Coco Sprinkler Citrus Poem reading series and Jericho Brown calls her “the only person who reads [his] poems better than [him].”
Other projects, films, and writing have recently appeared in the Virginia Film Festival, Spark + Echo, Puerto del Sol, Dear Lois, Tribe de Mama, Maximum RocknRoll, and The Night Heron Barks. A 2021 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, she is writing her first book.
Find her at adrienneoliverrr.com
Instagram @adrienneoliverrr
Dan Walser
Dan Walser is a writer, producer, and the owner of NEIGHBORHOOD, a film production company founded in 2011 with a mission to apprentice and employ formerly incarcerated adults. Most recently, he co-wrote and produced CONCRETE COWBOY, directed by Ricky Staub and starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin.
It was released on Netflix on April 2, 2021. Dan and Ricky's short film, THE CAGE, garnered numerous festival awards including Grand Prize at the Heartland Film Festival, which qualified it for 2019 Oscar consideration. Dan and his wife Julia live with their three sons in Ventura, CA.
Michelle Ami Reyes
Michelle Ami Reyes, PhD, is the Vice President of the AACC and Co-Executive Director of Pax. She is also the Scholar in Residence at Hope Community Church and author of Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections Across Cultures.
Michelle lives in Austin with her husband, Aaron, and two amazing kids."
Mike Hicks
Mike Hicks is an unique blend of talent and humility rarely found in today’s emerging talent. As an artist, writer, and performer, Mike is revered as one of the best in the diverse Funk and Soul music scene in Nashville and beyond. When he’s not writing and performing his own original music,
Hicks has been on the road most recently touring with country music superstars, Rascal Flatts. International touring with Keb Mo, Jonny Lang, and others has lent him years of maturity that most artists rarely experience.
Travis Thrasher
Bestselling author Travis Thrasher has written over 70 books and worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years. He has written fiction in a variety of genres, from love stories and supernatural thrillers to young adult series.
He’s also co-written memoirs and self-help books, collaborating with filmmakers, musicians, athletes, comedians and pastors. Travis lives with his wife and three daughters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Yan Palmer
Yan Palmer practices kindness over coolness, laughter as therapy, and doing whatever it is she does with presence and heart. Her photography has taken her all over the world, not only making photos but educating thousands of other creatives along the way. She lives with her children on Ute land (Provo, Utah) where they try to look at the sky and casually explore consciousness as often as possible.
Direct people to yanpalmer.com and her \
Instagram @yanpalmer
Morgan Harper Nichols
Popular Instagram poet and artist Morgan Harper Nichols has created her life’s work around the stories of others. Morgan’s popular Instagram feed (@morganharpernichols) has garnered a loyal online community, and she is the author of All Along You Were Blooming, a book of poems and art she created in response to the personal stories submitted by her friends and followers. Known for its lyrical tone and vibrant imagery, Morgan’s work is an organic expression of the grace and hope we’ve been given in this world. Morgan has also performed as a vocalist on several GRAMMY-nominated projects and written for various artists, including a Billboard #1 single performed by her sister, Jamie-Grace. Morgan is often on the road creating, teaching, and performing, in hopes of spreading her unique inspirational message and inviting others into her creative process. Morgan currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with her family.