Meet the Team

Billie Nell

CO-DIRECTOR & TREASURER

Billie Nell (he/him) is an award-winning theatre creator, actor, arts organizer, and spoken word artist who has performed on national and international stages including: the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, Scottish Poetry Slam Championships, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival StAnza Slam, and Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. His one-person play, The Remembering, was awarded the Ottawa Fringe Awards of Excellence for Outstanding New Work & Outstanding Solo Performance and the Prix Rideau Awards for Outstanding Performance & Outstanding New Creation. Billie currently serves as Co-Director of Urban Legends Poetry Collective, Co-Director and Co-Founder of uOttawa’s West Coast Swing Society (uO WCS), and Grant Writer and Accessibility Coordinator of Swing in Bloom. With over a decade of experience in the Canadian arts scene, and cross-disciplinary expertise spanning spoken word poetry, theatre, and dance, Billie is a seasoned arts organizer who champions arts education, community-building, and accessible arts programming through his grassroots, equity-focused approach.

Jenica Kay

CO-DIRECTOR & SLAM MASTER

Jenica Kay (they/them) is a bi-racial writer, arts organizer, and spoken word poet residing on the unseeded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe. Jenica is Co-Director and Slam Coordinator for Urban Legends Poetry Collective. They are the former Slam Coordinator (2015-2017), Volunteer Coordinator (2014-2016), and board member of the Capital Poetry Collective (2012-2017). They are currently working on their debut poetry collection, Loud and Imperfect Miracles, as well as their debut speculative fiction novel, A Gift of Light.

King Kimbit

CO-DIRECTOR & CO-EDUCATION COORDINATOR

King Kimbit is a literary Hip-Hop artist born and raised on unceded Algonquin territory (Ottawa), passionate about empowering youth, community care, and sharing love through writing, reciting, and the abolition of punitive, carceral institutions.

King has performed solo and as part of ensembles in music and theatre across Turtle Island, Jamaica, and Vietnam. In 2017 King released her debut album Life Lessons Poetically, a collection of musical poetry in collaboration with artists locally and abroad. She is currently creating her sophomore album, Healing Trauma From The Projects. 

Since 2018, she has teamed up with Jo-Anne Bryan, Carmelle Cachero, and Jordan Samonas, as a writer and the vocalist of their group, Speaking Vibrations. That year, King co-founded Cap City Cyphers (CCC), a space for rappers and singers to learn and develop improvisational skills and build community. Since then, CCC has partnered with organizations local and abroad to promote community through music.

Khaleefa Hamdan

co-education coordinator

Khaleefa ‘Apollo the Child’ Hamdan is a spoken word poet, hip hop artist, former radio host, youth worker and is the former co-director of the Urban Legends Poetry Collective. Apollo created the free after school youth writing program Youth Speak with the Ottawa Public Library. His cinepoem ‘My Hero Drives a Cab’ was featured on Button Poetry and he was part of the CBC documentary ‘In Their Words’. Apollo has represented Ottawa a total of 9 times nationally. Apollo is one half of the hip hop funk duo Funky Colours and he continues to be an active part of the art scene as he continues to mentor and spread positivity.

Sol Schafer

ADVISOR

Sol has been helping organize Urban Legends since 2020 and had the privilege of representing UL at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2019. He started writing and performing poetry in high school and fell in love with slam poetry while competing at Victorious Voices Youth Poetry Festival, going on to become the Social Media Coordinator for that festival in 2020 and its Artistic Director in 2021. He now lives in Montreal, but UL still holds a special place in his heart.

Zineb Nour

GRAPHIC DESIGNER & WEBSITE DEVELOPER

Zineb Nour is a multidisciplinary artist. She was on the Urban Legends team that represented Ottawa at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2017.  You can find her poetry anthology “How to Outwit a Pack of Wolves” on Amazon. She is an actor, most recently in a Montreal Fringe show called “Strangers”.  She is a visual artist, designer, playlist maker, stage manager, director, and much more.

To follow Zineb’s art journey, visit @bootlegpoetry on Instagram.

Deborah Harriet

supporting Team member

Deborah Harriet is a Ugandan-Canadian poet, writer and artist with a passion for storytelling that bridges both personal and collective experiences.

When she’s not writing, you can find her immersed in her passion for cooking, and pursuing her master’s in economics.

Brennan Maunsel

supporting Team member

Brennan Maunsel is a local writer, poet, and spoken word artist. He was a feature performer in the Ephemeroptera series, the inaugural recipient of the Jan Andrews Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award in CV2’S Two-Day Poem Contest. As a teenager, he self-published his first chapbook, and performed and hosted at multiple Youth Speak Ottawa poetry showcases. He’s a fan of surreal art, autumn afternoons, and cats.

Galaxy Wozniak

supporting Team member

Galaxy the Poet was asked to provide a little bio. Galaxy was raised in Ottawa and loves this city. Growing into who they are has not been easy. Struggling with identity and mental health has been part of their journey, and they try to share the view of the world through their poetry.