A. C. Missias (born Andrea C. Missias, 1967, Okinawa, Japan), PhD neuroscientist and editor in applied mathematics as well as haikai poet, editor, and critic. One of the earliest participants in the Shiki Internet Haiku Salon, she won the 1st Shiki International Haiku Contest, and a trip to Japan. Founder and first editor of Acorn: A Journal of Contemporary Haiku, noted critic and author of articles on haikai, and columnist for the HSA journal Frogpond. Has lived in Philadelphia since 1996.

Abigail Friedman (born July 9, 1956, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.), retired American diplomat and national security official and prize-winning haiku poet and author. Studied in Japan under haiku master Momoko Kuroda. Founded the first bilingual French/English haiku group in Quebec City and the Supernova haiku group in the D.C. area; judge of the Golden Haiku Contest. Friedman is the author of three haiku-related books and contributor to many anthologies. Resides in Washington, D.C.

Agnes Eva Savich (born Agnieszka Ewa Milewska, November 18, 1976, Kraków, Poland), university program coordinator, oboist, and haiku poet. Has published two verse collections, The Watcher: Poems (2009) and So Many Dandelions (2025). Founder and leader of the Austin, Texas Haiku Group; a judge of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Contest; Editor of the HSA Southwest Region 2021 members’ anthology and Regional Coordinator since 2024; and curator of the Memorial Presentation for Haiku North America 2021 and its Treasurer since 2023. Named Editor of Frogpond in 2026. Lives in Austin, Texas.

Alan S. Bridges (Alan Scott Bridges, born October 27, 1956, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.), patient services representative, Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass.; president, Cosega Energy Corporation; and haiku poet. He is a member of the Broadmoor Haiku Collective and has served as a judge of the Haiku Society of America Gerald Brady Senryu Contest (2014), the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku International (2019), and the Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Competition (2020). Bridges was voted Poet of the Year by the readers of The Heron’s Nest in both 2016 and 2017. His work has been featured in A New Resonance 7 and Mann Library’s Daily Haiku. He has won six haiku competitions, and his published collections include In a Flash (2019), Stirring Ashes (2020), and In the Curves ( 2020). Bridges has lived in Massachusetts for most of his life, currently residing in Weston.

Alanna C. Burke (born Alanna Carroll Burke, July 31, 1952, Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A), American poet and business manager for her husband, the artist William Berra. Writing haiku and haibun since 2011; published in the major print and online periodicals. Member of the Santa Fe Haiku Study Group; co-edited the group’s chapbook, Open Spaces. Lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.