Stuti Sharma believes love is the most powerful force in the world. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, Stuti immigrated to Chicago at 5 years old. They grew up in the West Ridge of Chicago and the south suburbs, where they studied at South Suburban College, majoring in English and Chemistry and minoring in cello. (p.s. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was one of their favorite books from their first year in college). Stuti is an eclectic educator, from being an after school teacher in Chicago's Devon neighborhood, a poetry teacher in CPS, a STEAM youth librarian, and a facilitator at a science museum. She is a community organizer who is passionate about joy, wonder, and art-making as forms of resistance and protest. When she's not writing poems or performing stand up comedy around Chicago or working on filmmaking projects, you can find her hiking in the woods of Illinois, taking spontaneous road trips to see mountains, trying to perfect her oat milk chai recipe, and skateboarding on the 606 or down 18th street while listening to music.