Dr. Victoria (Vicky) Bañales (she/her/ella) is the 2025-2027 Watsonville Poet Laureate. A Chicanx writer, teacher, and mother, she is a member of the Writers of Color-Santa Cruz County, Círculo de Poetas & Writers, and founder and co-editor of Xinachtli Journal (Journal X), a social justice literary arts magazine. Her poems, stories, and essays have been published in various journals and anthologies. The recipient of two poetry awards and a teaching excellence award, she holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Feminist Studies from the University of California-Santa Cruz. She has a book of poetry waiting in the wings and is working on a novel.  She loves nature, especially oceans and mountains, and two years ago, she hiked Angel's Landing in Zion and Half Dome in Yosemite. The proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, she lives in Watsonville, CA, and teaches Chicanx/Latinx literature, fiction writing, and English composition at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz County.