Dena Rod is a writer, editor, and poet based in the Bay Area with a skills set ranging from health care to cosmetics. Dena formerly worked as a Healthcare Administrator at One Medical and as a Beauty & Skincare Advisor at Impulse Beauty at Macy's. She also has experience in managing and editing literary publications, including Homology Lit and Argot Literary Magazine. Dena is passionate about using her creative nonfiction essays and poetry to highlight and combat negative stereotypes of diasporic experiences of Iranian American heritage and queer identity in mainstream media.