Ravi Chandra, M.D. (“Hapa Hollywood”) is a San Francisco-based psychiatrist and writer who struggles with how to describe what he does. Urban shaman, happiness locator, philosopher of the soul, companion to the underworld and “guy who sits in the corner and listens” all come to mind. He is especially interested in Asian American arts, culture and identity, which led him to write for Hyphen. He also writes prescriptions. www.sfpsychiatry.com

Roger Persson (“The Vibrations of Lineage”) grew up on the Swedish tundra, not far from Denmark, but currently lives and works out of San Francisco as a freelance photographer. He focuses on portraiture and urban landscapes. His images have appeared in L.A. City Beat and Health Magazine, among others. When he is not photographing, he spends his time bicycling and duck hunting.

Lisa Wong Macabasco (“Trapped in Chinatown”) is a writer living in San Francisco. She’s a recent graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and has written for Mother Jones, AsianWeek, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and University of California, Berkeley’s hardboiled. She is also a co-founder of the National Asian American Student Conference.

Ching-In Chen (“Road Show”), the daughter of Chinese immigrants, grew up around Boston. Her last day job was working with the Boston Asian American community, but now she can be found having adventures in Greyhound stations and random locations across the country, writing fiercely in notebooks and eating good food.

Ejen Chuang (“Furious Five—Peppa”) is a frequent Hyphen contributor and framer of the quintessential L.A. question, is a haircut really worth three Ketel tonics (either totalling about $40, sans tip)? When not shooting luminaries such as Gael Garcia Bernal or Antonio Villaraigosa, he likes to spend time downing bacon cheeseburgers with close friends Vince and Angelina at the Philly Steak Depot in Hollywood. www.helloejen.com

Junichi Tsuneoka (Comic) has established a unique illustration style often recognized as “California Roll Stylie,” the result of both visual and conceptual fusion of Japanese pop culture and US urban culture. He founded STUBBORN SIDEBURN, an art and illustration studio, to broaden his visual communication. www.stubbornsideburn.com

Ronald Kurniawan (“Trapped in Chinatown”) graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Inspired by ideograms, syllables, letterforms, beasts and heroic landscapes, he continues to create a visual language where the wilderness and civilization could merge happily together. He currently lives and works in the quiet town of Los Angeles where he paints meticulously and happily, accompanied by his sidekick pug, Ruffles.

A military brat, Katinka Baltazar (“Vertigo”) has resided on or around US Navy bases in Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and Iceland and currently writes fiction from Southern California. A graduate of the master of fine arts program in creative writing at San Francisco State University, she is the author of the self-published collection of creative writing Songs of Discovery (available at www.lulu.com) and the editor and publisher of www.fiercewomen.com, a women’s community website.