Jessica Rowshendal
Light-skinned Afro-Indigenous (Boricua/Taíno/Puerto Rican) and Persian (SWANA). Child of immigrants. BIPOC in majority white spaces. LGBTQIA+, non-binary trans, bisexuality, pansexuality, asexual spectrum. Christian fundamentalism (Pentecostal), atheism. PTSD, c-PTSD, depression, anxiety. Visual processing disorder, ADHD, autism, intellectual disability. Chronic illness/pain/fatigue, medical trauma. Fat bodies.
Experience
Lived experience, B.A. in forensic psychology. M.S. in social work focused on social justice issues of creative workers. Significant coursework in geoscience. Poet, visual artist, musician. Professional and volunteer experiences in houseless and lupus communities; racial, economic, housing, non-human animal justice. Decolonial framework.
Reading Interests
All genres, all age groups. Fiction. Non-fiction. Poetry.
Sossity Chiricuzio
Fat, white, disabled, anxiety, depression, PTSD, dissociation, and eating disorders, non-binary/gender spectrum, queer identities, survivor experiences (sexual, emotional, and mental), communal living, and rural communities, poverty/working class experience, low income housing, and social welfare systems.
Experience
Lived experience, BA in Gender and Women's Studies/Humanities, and decades of personal research, lived experience, and grassroots activism on a range of relevant topics. Broad range of fiction, academic and business nonfiction experience.
Reading Interests
All genres welcome except horror, and I read and enjoy literature from all age groups.
Jessie Maimone
Biracial (Black & white), chronic illness (ulcerative colitis), anxiety
Experience
Lived experience, M.S. in Book Publishing and Library and Information Science, professional experience
Reading Interests
Romance, Children's and young adult books
Isabelle Felix
Black, Haitian American, Afro Latina/e, Chronic migraines, Hard-of-Hearing (HoH), Physical rehabilitation (regarding mobility), Survivor of Natural Disaster, Family member with mental and emotional health disorders
Experience
Lived experience, background in Psychology (research and therapy), experience as a sensitivity reader
Reading Interests
All genres welcome
Gulnaz Saiyed
Indian American, Muslim, Anxiety, foster/adoptive parent (*not* qualified to read for adoptees or those who are/have been in foster care), learning and cognition, special needs parenting
Experience
Lived experience; academic research on Islamic feminism and women's issues; ethnographer of racial, cultural, and power dynamics in learning environments; curriculum writer; editor/writer, MFA Candidate in Writing for Young People at Lesley University; MS in Journalism.
Reading Interests
Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's Literature, Academic Writing