Cameron Pentimone currently works in Quality Assurance, writing evaluations for a PayPal technical support hotline. Outside the 9 to 5, they volunteer for 2nd Story, a non-profit storytelling organization. As a 2nd Story company member, Cam has been writing and performing personal narratives around Chicago since 2012. Beyond that, they are usually painting, making comics, eating pizza, or playing with their black lab, Special Agent Dale Cooper. 

cameronpentimone.com

instagram.com/cam.pentimone

Deanna Devore is a Chicago and Toronto based multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Her music beautifully blends downtempo electronic beats with organic instrumentation, creating emotionally captivating music that has been resonating with audiences across the globe. Devore's polished musicianship, modern production techniques and compelling songwriting emanates a maturity and sophistication that spans across downtempo electronic, R&B, neo-soul, jazz and orchestral territories.

Following the success of her highly acclaimed EP half and half, Devore has just unveiled her new single ‘Lately’, an alluring neo-soul track. Devore has seen success performing to sold-out venues and festivals across the map, such as Summerfest, CMJ, NXNE, and 80/35. She has also had the pleasure of opening for renowned artists including Jamie Cullum, Bonobo and SG Lewis, as well as Raveena, Mother Mother and Yoke Lore. The composer has recently explored more commercial work, where her work can be heard in podcasts, feature films and even a Starbucks ad.

www.deannadevore.com

www.instagram.com/deannadevore

www.facebook.com/deannadevoremusic

www.twitter.com/deannadevore

Heather Hobbs is an East Leyden alumna and a fiction author. Her short stories have appeared in the Chicago Reader, the Southeast Review, the Civic and Arts Review, and the Luminarts Review. She has also received an honorable mention from Glimmer Train magazine and is a Luminarts Fellow in creative writing. Currently, she works as a content editor at Yakkety Yak, a Chicago digital marketing agency.

http://heather-hobbs.com

Twitter: @__heatherhobbs

Ike Holter is a 2017 winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize, one of the highest awards for playwriting in the world. Holter is a resident playwright at Victory Gardens Theater, and has been commissioned by The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, South Coast Repertory and The Playwrights’ Center. His work has been produced at the Steppenwolf Garage, The Philadelphia Theater Company, off-Broadway at Barrow Street Theatre and Cherry Lane Theatre, The Lily Tomlin Center in Los Angeles, True Colors in Atlanta, Forward Theater in Wisconsin, Water Tower Theater in Dallas, 3oaks in Michigan and Jackalope Theatre Company, Teatro Vista, A Red Orchid and The Inconvenience in Chicago. He is the artistic director of The Roustabouts and is a regular performer at Salonathon in Chicago.

Jeremy Mercado is a poet, photographer & friend living in Humboldt Park. When not running around the city looking for a good slice of pizza, he is between classes at Northeastern Illinois University studying to be a social worker, or working with youth out west in Austin at BUILD as a program coordinator & mentor. 

Instagram: @miles_on_davis

Jeremy Owens is the creator, producer and host of You're Being Ridiculous, a long-running live-lit/storytelling show most recently featured at Steppenwolf. His work has been featured in the live-lit shows Essay Fiesta, Write Club, Story Club, The Paper Machete, and others. Jeremy teaches Queer Non-fiction writing and storytelling all over Chicago and his solo play about his big gay wedding will be featured at Steppenwolf this summer.

yourebeingridiculous.com

twitter.com/jeremyashley

instagram.com/jeremyashley

Jonathan Mendoza is a Boston-bred, Chicago-based Jewish and Mexican-American activist, spoken word poet, social justice educator, and musician. He is a National Poetry Slam Champion, winner of the 2018 Sonia Sanchez – Langston Hughes Poetry Prize, and a three-time award winner at the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational. Jonathan is a community organizer for housing and youth power with Pilsen Alliance and a teaching artist with Young Chicago Authors. Find books, updates, and more information at MendozaPoetry.com and @JMendoza010 (Twitter/Instagram).

Video links: 

“Osmosis”

“Confessions on Gratitude”

“Brown Boy, White Boy”

“For Quiet Boys"

"Onomástico"

Laura Rodríguez Presa is a bilingual journalist covering the Latino community in the Chicago area. Formerly a multimedia reporter for Hoy, the Tribune’s Spanish-language newspaper, Laura continues to focus on exposing the often untold stories of the Latino community. She aims to write pieces that transcend language, race, age and gender barriers. The DePaul alumni now lives in Pilsen, but she was born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico. She tends to wear rebozos everywhere and almost always drinks rose.

twitter.com/laura_n_rod

chicagotribune.com/ct-laura-rodriguez-staff.html

Marc Silverman has been a fixture of Chicago sports radio since 1995. With WGN, he covered three Chicago Bulls championships along with the city's other professional sports teams across various shows including a nightly sports report.  He joined ESPN1000 as one of its original hires in 1998, serving as the Bears beat reporter before developing his talents as a sports talk show host on the Jay Marriotti show and the Carmen and Silvy Show. Since 2006, he's been on the dial with former Chicago Bears wide receiver Tom Waddle on the Waddle and Silvy show.

His journalism career began at Niles North High School and continued when he majored in Radio and Television at Southern Illinois University, where he earned distinction as one of the school's top seniors. Since that time, he's covered all manner of sports moments, including six Super Bowls, Games 3 and 4 of 2005 World Series, Mark McGwire's 61st and 62nd HRs in St. Louis, and Dan Hampton's Hall of Fame induction.

Even when he's not covering the teams, he remains a diehard, Cubs, Bulls, and Bears fan. Marc shares his hard work and love of sports with his wife Allie and their two children.

Singer and guitarist Michael "Ace" Gajewski is a member of Aeraco, America's hard rock band from Chicago, IL. He grew up listening to classic blues guys like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and many more and then discovers bands like Queen, ACDC, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin amongst many others. Ace expanded his musical horizons shortly after getting his first guitar. He cites Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Synester Gates, James Hatfield, David Lee Roth, Billy Gibbons, and Freddie Mercury as his primary influences. He joined Aeraco in college and has spent the time since joining refining his musicianship and diversifying his musical tastes. In his free time Ace enjoys exercising, cooking/grilling, cheering on his favorite Chicago sports teams, shooting pool, beer tasting, collecting art, relaxing with his dogs/family and of course music. Chances are you can catch him hanging out at a speakeasy in Chicago when he isn’t on tour or at home catching up on family time.

https://www.aeraco1.com/

twitter.com/aeraco_music

Nancy García Loza is a self-taught pocha playwright rooted in Chicago, Illinois and Jalisco, México. Her audio drama BRAVA: a folktale con música launched Make-Believe Association’s 2019 inaugural season (The New York Times). She is currently under commission from: Goodman Theatre, MakeBelieve Association, Chicago Dramatists, and Teatro Leyden. She is a first-generation graduate of DePaul University, with a double concentration in Latino & Latin American Studies and Spanish. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, plays by ear, writes by instinct. Her storytelling draws heavily from the personal and often centers Mexicanas, especially reflecting on the Midwest pocha experience.

twitter.com/nancygarcialoza

instagram.com/nancygarcialoza

https://makebelieve.fm/brava or wherever you stream podcasts

Nestor “the Boss” Gomez was born in Guatemala and came to Chicago undocumented in the mid ’80s. He told his first story at a Moth story slam to get over the stuttering that plagued his childhood. Since then he has won over 40 Moth Slam and several Grand slams. His stories have been featured at several national radio shows, such as The Moth Radio Hour and Snap Judgment. Nestor also created, hosts, produces and curates his own storytelling show: 80 Minutes Around the World. It features the stories of immigrants and refugees from different parts of the world, showing how their descendants and allies in hopes of providing listeners a better understanding of the realities, struggles, and dreams related to the immigrant experience.  80 Minutes Around the World has ongoing presentations in Chicago, New York, and Detroit and is now available as a Podcast; you can follow along at #80MAW. To listen and subscribe to the podcast and to learn more about Nestor visit his website Nestorgomezstoryteller.com

 Appearing with Nestor Gomez and 80 Minutes Around the World

Nick DiMaso (he/him/his) is a writer and performer specializing in comedy. You can catch him performing with TWISTY, a house company of The Second City, every Saturday night starting in June 2020. In 2019, his humor article, "Research Participants Wanted (To Beat My Ass)" was selected as a Finalist in a National Humor Writing Challenge. When he's not creating, he's usually playing Nintendo Switch. He graduated from Northwestern University and East Leyden High School.

www.twitter.com/nickdimaso

Penelope Alegria is the Chicago Youth Poet Laureate for 2019-2020 and a member of Young Chicago Authors’ artistic apprenticeship. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in La Nueva Semana, Muse/A Journal, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT, and elsewhere. Penelope is a Brain Mill Press Editor’s Pick and was awarded the 2018 Literary Award by Julian Randall. She's a senior at Niles West High School and likes to eat french fries with mayonnaise.

instagram.com/penelopealegria

twitter.com/penelopealegria

Tim Stafford is a poet, educator, and storyteller from Lyons, IL. His work has appeared on the HBO series Def Poetry Jam and in numerous anthologies. He performs at literature festivals throughout the U.S. and Germany including the Poetry Slam Invitational in Zurich, Switzerland and the International Spoken Word Festival in Kiel, Germany. He runs the travel blog Second and Below is he is currently editing Break Beat Poets Volume 5: Punk for Haymarket Books.