Premiering at 2 p.m. ET Friday, August 12, 2022.

Jillian Hanesworth is The Poet Laureate (first ever) of Buffalo, NY, a community organizer, author, and award-winning Spoken Word Artist. She was born and raised on the East side of Buffalo, NY, where she discovered and homed in on her passion for art and literature. Jillian began writing at the age of 7, when she would write songs for her mother to sing in church. She later took a break from writing to successfully pursue educational goals, and worked to obtain a BA in Criminal Justice and Law, focusing on reform, from SUNY Fredonia. Following college, she re-discovered her passion for writing after composing the poem "Little Black Boy," leading to her decision to use her gifts to empower historically ignored communities.

Jillian is a teaching artist with the Dunbar Project through Ujima Theater, as well as the founder of Literary Freedom, LLC. She is the recipient of the 2020 Alt-imate Activist Award presented by the Western New York Peace Center, as well as a 2021 Buffalo Business First 30 under 30 award recipient.

Jillian loves and lives for the community and exemplifies that in all that she does.

About Chautauqua Institution: Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. As a community, we celebrate, encourage and study the arts and treat them as integral to all of learning, and we convene the critical conversations of the day to advance understanding through civil dialogue. CHQ Assembly is the online expression of Chautauqua Institution's mission.