As the host of "The Therapeutic Poet" podcast (International Women Podcast Award finalist 2022) and a published poet, Jacky uses verse to bypass the protective masks we all wear. With a Master's in Addiction Psychology and clinical training in therapy, she writes poetry that does what straight talk can't  – "carrying what's heavy on the wings of a melody." She believes that poetry is therapeutic technology – a tool to bear witness to unpalatable truths. That creativity isn't self-indulgent; it's how we process what we can't otherwise reach. Her live shows at STORY 2025 and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as her intimate workshops – model the vulnerability she encourages in others. From the wisdom of her own experience coping with disappointment, bitterness, and hopelessness, she brings the tenderness of what these feelings actually feel like through her poems. This creates a safe container where audiences can get in touch with their own difficult emotions without being afraid – learning these feelings aren't obstacles to creativity, they're the raw material. Jacky's signature work explores what she calls "the messy middle" – those moments when we're cycling through blame, shame, or hustle instead of creating from authentic truth. Her poetry gives permission to feel hopeless, to sit with bitterness, to witness pain without trying to fix it. She transforms the clinical language of trauma into accessible, visceral poetry that make people realize that "she's walked it. She knows. I'm not alone.”

Christopher Michael is an international literary artist and nationally ranked slam poet that uses poetry to address mental health, relationship accountability, and Black American history. Michael is the founder of 310 Brown Street Publishing that aims to make poets immortal.

The Nebraska State Poet, Matt Mason, serves as our sherpa guide through a pantheon of poets: Scott Woods, Aliyah American Horse, Denise Duhamel, Deb Carpenter-Nolting, Sean Patrick Mulroy, Nicholle Laffer & Mighty Mike McGee.

Pat Hazell hosts a seasonal salute with appearances from Earlene Hoople, Broadway Barbara, Tony Haselden, Maia Sharp, Jo Ann Daugherty Trio, poet Alandra Markman, and Catherine Porter & Seth Barrish.