Nikki Giovanni, poet, activist, mother, grandmother, and educator, was raised in Tennessee and Ohio and graduated with honors from Fisk University in Nashville. The author of over thirty books, she is also the recipient of seven NAACP Image Awards, the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, as well as twenty-seven honorary degrees. She garnered her most unusual honor in 2007 when a South American bat species—Micronycteris giovanniae—was named in celebration of her. A devoted teacher, she spent thirty-five years as University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Erin Robinson is a fashion designer by trade but also a trained fine artist from Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Her daydreamy, magical imagination is inspired by travel, color, texture, the feminine shape, and the many shades and coifs of Brooklyn. She currently splits her time between New York City and Washington, DC. Find her at brooklyndolly.com and on Instagram @brooklyndolly.