Polo is a language educator and public speaker with a decade of experience as a queer community builder on Turtle Island. Originally from the UK, they hold a Master of Education in Adult Education and a BA in Linguistics and Philosophy. Today, they channel their love for languages into learning Arabic, French, Russian, and Irish, while spending as much time as possible with their spouse and abundance of animals.

Shahzad is a wildlife photographer who broke free from the corporate grind—because staring at spreadsheets all day didn’t quite capture the magic of Turtle Island’s landscapes. When he’s not chasing the perfect shot in nature, you can find him wrestling with Excel sheets and pretending to enjoy balancing budgets for our worker co-operative. On top of that, he’s a connoisseur of third-wave coffee, music and movies. Shahzad and Sayeh have a fur baby named Emily, who is a 13-year-old black and white fluffy cat. He is currently learning Arabic.

Sayeh is a certified language teacher in Mandarin and English, as well as a healthcare interpreter based in Tkaronto on Turtle Island. She holds a master's degree in Linguistics. Originally from southwest Beijing, Sayeh studied in Jerusalem/Al-Quds before moving to Tkaronto. Outside of the classroom, Sayeh dedicates her time to supporting Bellis Crafts (@bellis_crafts), an art initiative introducing Palestinian tatreez overseas. Sayeh is currently learning Uyghur and Peskotomuhkati-Wolastoqey language.

Dima is an experienced and passionate language instructor from Gaza, Palestine. She has been teaching Arabic and English for over 10 years to students of various ages and language backgrounds. Dima is also highly knowledgeable in Arabic literature and poetry, having worked as a professional translator and content writer for many years. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from Islamic University of Gaza. In addition to being fully proficient in English, Dima is also an avid Korean learner.

Alia (pronounced uh-lee-yah) is an educator and musician based in Cairo and Tkaronto. Raised in an Arabic-speaking household and formally educated in English and French, she is fully trilingual. Alia is experienced in teaching languages to beginners, incorporating elements of music, dance, acting, and singing into her lessons. With a deep passion for history and linguistics, she enriches her teaching with cultural context and foundational knowledge, making her lessons fun and informative at the same time.

Abdurraheem holds a BA in philosophy and has studied under scholars at various seminaries to gain proficency in Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. With a keen interest in contemporary Muslim philosophy and politics, he regularly moderates discussions with various academics on topics related to social justice, the language of secularism, and Islamic Philosophy. As the co-founder of the Political Education organization, Watermelon Coalition, Abdurraheem hopes to continue working in building and facilitating spaces for discourse and learning.