Keana Aguila Labra
Co-Founder, Publisher
Keana Aguila Labra (they/them/she/her) is a Cebuana Tagalog Filipinx poet & writer in diaspora residing on stolen Ohlone Tamyen land. She works to provide a safe literary space for underserved & underrepresented communities as the Editor-in-Chief of literary magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas and the co-Founder of the BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ focused publishing press, Sampaguita Press. Outside of MAS & SamPress, she is the Interview Lead for the Walang Hiya Project, an arts collective centering Filipinxaos of marginalized genders & LGBTQ+ folks. She is also a fellow of the Kearny Street Interdisciplinary Writer’s Lab cohort of summer ’21 & currently a Barangay Tanod intern with the Bayanihan Center in San Francisco. In her free time, she is a book reviewer with City Book Review. She is the author of the chapbooks, No Saints (Lazy Adventurer Publishing) & Mohilak (Fahmidan Co. & Publishing) and Kanunay. She served as one of the Honorary Santa Clara County Poets Laureate of Oct. ’21 alongside Lorenz Mazon Dumuk. Her biggest secret is that Tagalogs can’t tell she’s Cebuano when she speaks Tagalog. Unfortunately, all Bisayans can tell she’s Tagalog when she speaks Cebuano.
Maria Bolaños
Co-Founder, Publisher
Maria Bolaños (she/they) is a Filipina American poet, book reviewer, and co-Founder of Sampaguita Press. She is committed to building spaces to nurture and showcase Filipinxao literature as well as Black, Indigenous, and POC literature. Her poems were nominated for Best of the Net in 2021 and 2022, and her writing has been featured in US publications such as Touchstone, Cut Fruit Collective, and the International Examiner; and international publications such as Antigone and Yuzu Press, among others. She is the author of the poetry chapbook, SANA. See more of their work on Instagram @mariabeewrites.
Kelly Ritter
Editorial & Outreach
Kelly Ritter (she/they) is a reader, writer, & crafter currently living life in Muncie, Indiana. She graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. When she’s not reading or tweeting, she’s outside practicing yoga or cuddling her kitties. You can find Kelly on Instagram, Twitter, & TikTok @KellyLovesLit
Isabel Angeles
Editorial & Events
Isabel Angeles (she/they) is a 22 year old non-binary and bisexual Filipina writer/artist, recently graduated from UCLA. Isabel’s poetry navigates her identity as a 1.5 Gen Filipina, her experiences with queer love, and love in general. She is also the founder of the Walang Hiya Project (@walanghiyaproject), an arts collective for Filipino/a/x folks of marginalized genders and LGBTQ+ Pinoys. You can find her at @roni.isabel on Instagram and her poetry at @buwanbeams!
Jennifer Nessel
Editorial & Marketing
Jennifer Nessel is a Baltimore teacher working with ESOL students in reading and language arts. Their work can be found at Defunkt, Apple in the Dark, Flash Frontier, among others. They live outside of Washington, D.C. with their partner and two cats.
Dina Klarisse
Editorial
Dina Klarisse (she/her) is a writer, poet, editor, and serial procrastinator based in the Bay Area. Poetry is her way of making sense of her experience as a queer Filipina American immigrant and recovering Catholic, as well as her interest in the intersections of history, language, culture, and identity. Her work has been published in ASU’s Canyon Voices, The Daily Drunk Mag, Chopsticks Alley, Kalopsia Literary Journal, among others. She is the author of the poetry chapbook, HANDSPUN ROSARIES. More of her writing can be found on her Instagram @hella_going and blog hellagoing.com.
David Anderson
Operations Coordinator
David Anderson (he/him) is an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy novels. He is an aerospace engineer living and working on the Gabrielino, Tongva, Kizh land also known as Los Angeles. He is a mixed-race person of Native American and European ancestry, on a personal decolonization journey to reconnect with and honor his Yaqui, Hopi, Tongva and Chumash roots.
Eric Asuncion
Editorial & Social Media Coordinator
Eric Asuncion (he/him) is a pop culture essayist, comic writer, and Social Media Coordinator of Marías at Sampaguitas and Sampaguita Press. He is the co-director of the BuliLit Zine issue, Nostalgia is in the Heart, which is forthcoming Fall 2022. He is a graduate from San José State University, holding a Bachelor’s degree in English. His work may be found in the CAMP: glitter in our eyes issue published by Marías at Sampaguitas. As a writer and creative, he caters to the audience with a keen attention to detail, as well as the ability to use insight to simplify otherwise more complex ideas.
Nikki Liv Casta Basas
Social Media Coordinator
Nikki Liv Casta Basas (she/her) is a Pilipina American registered nurse and daughter of descendants from Leyte and Pangasinan who was raised in Hercules, California in the East Bay Area (Karkin & Muwekma Ohlone land). She graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2019 with a B.S. in Nursing Sciences. Following her terms as Cultural Coordinator and Maria Clara Coordinator for the undergraduate Pilipinx American student organization of Kababayan at UCI, Nikki organized with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis and with the Northern California Pilipinx-American Student Alliance (NCPASA). Here, she headed NCPASA’s internship program as part of her position on board, and partook in the Summit and Community Action and Dialogue committees. She is a member of GABRIELA Oakland and is a performing artist with the Kariktan Dance Company based in Concord, California. An avid writer, Nikki finds catharsis in journaling and poetry. She is an admirer of musical theatre, long drives, Cinnamoroll, and various art forms.
Kattrina M
Social Media Coordinator
kattrina m (she/her) is a queer biracial writer and poet residing in Redding, CA, USA. She graduated from Southern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, minoring in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. You can find her work in various indie magazines such as Polemical Zine, Silk Club, and Marías at Sampaguitas. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlemoonbi for more poetry, cats, podcast shenanigans, and boba.
Jillian Rogers
Social Media Coordinator
Jillian Rogers is an aspiring editor with two degrees in Creative Writing from SFSU in San Francisco, CA and Cardiff University in Wales. She spends her days as a barista, but at night she is a killer rearranger of words. Residing in Pacifica, ten minutes from San Francisco, Jillian enjoys the views of the ocean as she takes on the world through writing/editing. Her past writing internships include companies such as hibooks, Super Interns, and Cardiff Review.
Noreen Ocampo
Contributor
Noreen Ocampo (she/they) is a Filipina American writer and poet based in Atlanta. She is the author of two micro-chapbooks, Not Flowers (Variant Literature, 2022) and Teaspoons (Daily Drunk Press, 2021), and their poems can also be found in {m}aganda Magazine, Depth Cues, Taco Bell Quarterly, and Hobart, among others. She is a blog co-editor and web editor for COUNTERCLOCK and studies English, film, and media at Emory University. Say hi on Twitter @maybenoreen!
Mlou
Artist
MLOU (they/them) is a Queer, Trans & Non-Binary Filipinx/o artist. MLOU likes to draw silly little bunnies and make art out of their feelings. Their work ranges from detailed repetitive line work, comical bunnies, and zines about their personal life.Their passions reside in art, mental health advocacy, and LGBTQ+ education. Their work can be found through Twitter & Instagram at @MLOUTHEARTIST and through linktr.ee/mloutheartist.
Wednesday
Artist
Wednesday is a Filipino illustrator and designer from the Bay Area. She loves bright colors, doodling, and educating on the wonders of art. She’s currently working towards her BA in design studies and has been featured or affiliated with platforms like LEAD Filipino, Southern Exposure Art Gallery, Queer Asian Social Club, Pinayista, and more! When she’s not illustrating, she enjoys her time running at the park, drinking coffee at her favorite cafés, or hanging out with her loved ones. You can find her on Instagram @wednesdaybabyblue.
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