Melissa Lozada-Oliva is a Guatemalan-Colombian spoken word poet & educator that currently lives in Ridgewood, Queens, New York and is an MFA candidate at New York University where she began teaching in Spring of 2019. She is the author of chapbooks Plastic Pajaros & Rude Girl is Lonely Girl! & peluda, which explores the intersecting narratives of body image, hair removal & Latina identity. Her works have been featured on Buzzfeed, REMEZCLA, Glamour Magazine, Huffington Post, Upworthy, The Guardian, and in Muzzle Magazine. She is also part of the Say More podcast along with her best friend Olivia Gatwood.