Ricardo Maldonado was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is a graduate of Tufts and Columbia University’s School of the Arts, he is the author of The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020), a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, one of Remezcla’s Best Books by Latina or Latin American Authors, and Silver Medalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award. Maldonado is the Academy of American Poets's President and Executive Director. Previously, he served as the co-director of 92NY’s Unterberg Poetry Center in New York City.