Stephanie Pacheco (IG: @thestephaniepacheco) is the 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States. She also served as the 2023 New York City and 2024 Inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate, and was a part of the 2022 New York City Youth Slam Team. She is a long-time advocate for equity in arts and education, having organized with organizations such as The Healing Centered Schools Task Force. She has been highlighted by The Today Show, NPR, and CBS for her poetry and advocacy, and has performed at The Barclays Center, Lincoln Center, The Schomburg, The Apollo Theater, The Kennedy Center, and more. Since October 2025, she teaches the monthly "Slam Workshop: Foundations & Frameworks" online at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Bonafide Rojas is a poet, musician, multiple BRIO award winner, and author of five collections of poetry: Excelsior, Notes On The Return To The Island, Renovatio, When The City Sleeps & Pelo Bueno. He is an inaugural Letras Boricuas Fellow by the Flamboyan & Mellon Foundation and has appeared on Def Poetry Jam. He is the bandleader of The Mona Passage, an experimental NYC rock band, who have released two albums "When The City Sleeps" and "The New Myths". He’s performed at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Museum, Philadelphia Museum Of Art, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bowery Ballroom, Konvent Zero Barcelona, Spoken Word Paris, Latinale Berlin, Hafen Lesung Hamburg, Festival De La Palabra Puerto Rico, and The Rio Piedras International Book Fair. He’s an avid collector of pop culture and only wears red socks. IG: @bonafiderojas & @themonapassage

Sumbodies Mama is a multifaceted artist hailing from the vibrant Bronx, NY, celebrated for her roles as a poet, spoken word artist, and actor. Her list of accolades is impressive, including being crowned the 2024 Nuyorican Poetry Grand Slam Champion and securing 2nd place in the 2024 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Her journey to success began when she was named the 2009 Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Youth Poet of The Year and continued when she won the 2010 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry slam as a member of the Urban Word NYC team. She has shared stages with luminaries such as Georgio Armani, Oscar Award-winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Savion Glover. Sumbodies Mama's artistry is a force to be reckoned with, inspiring audiences far and wide with her compelling narratives and poignant performances. IG: @sumbodies_mama

David Roberts aka D-Black is a 1st Generation American Bronx-native who has been acting, writing, and performing poetry at a number of venues such as: The Apollo, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, African Burial Grounds, and elsewhere. He began in off-Broadway theatre and became a 2018 Winner of the AUDELCO award for Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Play. His most recent features have been in HARLEM, BLUE BLOODS, FBI: MOST WANTED, DAREDEVIL, THE WU-TANG SERIES, and ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. His poem “I Apologize Pt 1: The Rapper” interview/video hit over 10 million views on Facebook and is still climbing.

YT: @dblk504
IG: @iamdroberts, & @dblk504
FB: /droberts504

JRose (IG: @my_crumbled_thoughts) is an international Spoken Word Poet and teaching artist from Queens, NY, and founder of The Rose Garden Events, a creative platform launched in 2018. She has performed and taught all over the world, including Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and cities all across the U.S. She earned slam titles nationwide and was crowned the 2023 BRIC Brooklyn Grand Slam Finals champion. Now hosting the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Poetry Slam, JRose has performed on stages like Lincoln Center, S.O.B.'s, Write About Now, and Busboys and Poets. A dedicated teaching artist, she leads workshops in schools, libraries, camps and at Rikers Island. In 2024, she became the first poet signed to Skyzoo’s First Generation Rich, releasing her debut album and book, Pieces of My Crumbled Thoughts.

Goya Robles is recognized for his breakout role as Yago in the critically acclaimed series Get Shorty, Joaquin on Power Book 3: Raising Kanan and Monkey Morales on Netflix’s Griselda starring Sofia Vergara. He can also be seen playing Oscar Papa on the hit shows Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.  Other television credits include NCIS: LA and the upcoming show CIA.  He has starred in numerous independent films, including a supporting lead in the movie 11:55 starring John Leguizamo and a lead role in the film Tokyo Cowboy. He was seen in Apple TV’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever starring Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray. He executive produced the short film Wonder, winning over 20 national and international film festival awards, and he wrote a feature film script inspired by his life called To Be Loved. Both John Leguizamo and Mariska Hargitay are executive producing To Be Loved, with the film expected to shoot in the summer of 2026. Goya is a Lifetime Member of the Actors Studio and holds an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City.

Website: www.goyarobles.com
IG: @goyarobles