Second Poet Laureate: Shawn Welcome (2021 - 2025)

Shawn Welcome is a long time Orlando resident and University of Central Florida graduate. He has been highly involved in the Orlando community, including facilitating poetic expression since 2006 through "Diverse Word," a weekly poetry night he launched that features local literary artists from across Central Florida. He has traveled the country sharing his gift of poetry, written NBA commercials for the Orlando Magic, and served youth and fellow poets through local nonprofits like Page 15, where he presented a “Slam Camp”.

As the city’s official storyteller, Welcome presented original poems at city events and youth activities to inspire emerging generations of literary artists and poets. He continued and expanded the city’s “Words and Wonders” Poetry Contest initiated by Orlando’s first poet laureate, Susan Lilley. The contest encourages and rewards residents who share their poetic voices.