Alka Kurian is an Associate Teaching Professor and Faculty Coordinator of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington Bothell. She is the author of Narratives of Gendered Dissent in South Asian Cinemas (Routledge: 2014), co-editor of New Feminisms in South Asia (Routledge: 2017), and is currently working on her next book Transnational Fourth Wave Feminism. Alka is a recipient of the 2020-2021 Fulbright US Scholar award to Morocco for research on fourth wave feminism. She is the ED of JLF Seattle, founder of TRASAL (Traveling South Asian Literary Festival), and host of the podcast South Asian Films And Books.

Anika Sinha is a social entrepreneur and the managing member of Zean LLC, a fast growing and integrated real estate development and investment firm based in Washington. With a focus on building lifestyle communities, she is particularly interested in the crossover between nature inspired design, construction, and technology to revolutionize communities of the future. She is a former trustee of the Lake Washington School Foundation and has worked extensively to enhance educational opportunities and community growth. Outside of work, Anika enjoys traveling to new destinations, exploring the world of literature and immersing in diverse cultures. An avid gardener, she finds relaxation and inspiration in nurturing plants and cultivating beautiful green spaces.

Kavita grew up in Delhi but is a long time Seattleite having lived there for the past 28 years. She loves traveling with her husband and two daughters, and walking with her dog, Sushi. She has a PhD in computational biology from University of Washington and has worked at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center and biotech companies.