Meet Camara

Camara Gaither is the City of Orlando’s Poet Laureate (appointed in October 2025), a public speaker, and a mental health therapist. Camara has won poetry competitions throughout Florida, including being the 2023 and 2024 Spoken Word Champion at Fusion Fest. She has represented the City of Orlando in national team competitions as well as in multidisciplinary art fellowships. She is the recipient of the 2024 Community Impact Grant and the 2025 Individual Artist Award from United Arts of Central Florida. Camara’s mission as a creative is to “articulate and amplify the untold stories of organizations and individuals impacting Central Florida.” She creates commissioned poetry for organizations, individuals, and special events. Camara recognizes that poetry holds the power to inspire the world toward more compassionate and conscious ways of relating to one another.

With a Master’s in Social Work, Camara is currently an RCSWI in the state of Florida. At Hearts Bonds Counseling, Camara provides individual therapy for clients navigating trauma, grief, depression, anxiety, and BIPOC identity. As a clinician, she utilizes ACT, DBT, Narrative Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Poetry Therapy. Trained by the International Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy, Camara partners with various clinical settings and community organizations to facilitate poetry therapy groups. She has worked with survivors of human trafficking, adults in residential treatment, at-risk youth programs, and veterans recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Outside of work rhythms, Camara loves roller skating and playing pickleball. She is blessed with a vivacious daughter and a loving husband.