Ebony Walden was born and raised in New York, received degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Virgina and has been a Charlottesville, VA resident for 9 years. By trade, she is a City Planner working to promote healthy and livable communities. Her strong faith, love for community development and passion for the arts has led her to organizing and emceeing various community events, such as the WordSmith Poetry Jam. Inspired by the success of the Poetry Jams and the art of poetry, Ebony has been working to develop her capability as a poet. As an aspiring poet, Ebony likes to find new ways to use poetry to give a voice to those who are often forgotten. The love for diverse peoples and cultures gave her the vision to embark on an exciting adventure to travel the world, write poetry and create poetry about and with the people she encountered around the world.