Meet Our Authors and Illustrators

Jimena is a Mexico City-based illustrator specializing in graphic novels, textbooks, and fiction who strives to make people smile through relatable characters and adventurous storytelling. Holding a degree from UNAM and a post-graduate certificate in Children’s Illustration from EINA Barcelona, she has produced work for major international clients including Macmillan, Pearson, Televisa, and Stone Arch Books. When she isn't creating art that makes people smile using Procreate, Photoshop, or acrylics, Jimena is a dedicated educator known for her popular illustration courses on the online platform Domestika. You can usually find her exploring the city for inspiration or sketching in the park with her dog.

Michelle Pereira is a freelance illustrator and artist. Colourful palettes, graphic shapes and cheery characters are features of her work, which she illustrates from her home studio in Melbourne. She has worked with a range of clients such as Hardie Grant Publishing, Penguin UK, Marie Claire and The Washington Post and some of her children's picture books include The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name and Stay For Dinner.

Yoko Baum, a Japanese illustrator based in Portland, Oregon, boasts extensive experience in the industry. Armed with a BFA, she dedicated several years to the children's books sector. Today, her passion lies in editorial, advertising, and publishing illustration. When not immersed in her craft, Yoko finds joy in cooking and baking for her sons, summer hikes, and occasional winter knitting, weaving nature's abundance into vibrant 2D visuals.

Felicia Liang is a Bay Area based artist and printmaker whose colorful and maximalist work reflects the communities and cultures she’s around. She weaves in storytelling and celebrates her Taiwanese-American identity through her food, still life, and cityscape illustrations.

Nathan is a Hong Kong-American illustrator, designer, and writer from Dallas, Texas. Unfortunately, he does not have a southern drawl. That would have been cool. The mildly offensive caricatures and comic strips he made as a tot introduced him to the world of illustration and animation where he found a collective calling of narrative storytelling. When he is not at his drawing table, he can be found cooking, at an indie cinema, or reading in a bookstore. Nathan is currently based in Cambridge, UK pursuing a Masters in Children's Book Illustration.

Shelby Rabara is a Filipina-American actor, dancer, and writer from Orange County, California. She is best known for voicing the lovable Peridot in Cartoon Network’sSteven's Universe. Shelby’s passion for dance started at the young age of four, and her love for it continued well into her professional life. Her stage credits include the national and internationalGleetours, The Academy Awards, The Grammy Awards, The Country Music Awards, and Coachella. Shelby can also be seen dancing in the following television shows and films:Glee,Seventeen Again,Step Up 3d, andThe LXD, to name a few. In her spare time, Shelby loves cooking, browsing international farmers markets, frolicking on the beach, and epic dance parties with her husband and daughter.

Kim Nguyen is a first-generation Vietnamese-Texan writer. She lives in Austin with her daughter, husband and several foster pugs. She loves telling empowering yet quirky stories for kids. Her award-winning career in advertising and entertainment informs her gently subversive and comedic writing. As a child of Vietnamese refugees, she is dedicated to telling diverse stories that shed light on issues in the world while maintaining a cheerful optimism about the future.

Edward A. Hailes Jr. is an experienced civil rights attorney and an ordained Baptist minister. He recently retired from his position as the Managing Director and General Counsel for Advancement Project, a national, policy and legal action group that creates strategies for achieving universal opportunity and a racially just democracy. His legal career included key, successful roles at the NAACP and at the U.S Commission on Civil Rights where he led across many advocacy platforms. Hailes earned degrees at Howard University as an Honors Program graduate and the Howard University School of Law. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, has served on several nonprofit boards of directors, and served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Laura Atkins is a children's book author, editor, teacher, and the director of the Manzanita Children’s Book Community. She co-wroteFred Korematsu Speaks Up, winner of several awards including the Carter G. Woodson Award and the Jane Addams Honor Award. She and co-author Stan Yogi have spoken to over 8,000 students at over 50 schools. She also co-wroteBiddy Mason Speaks Upwith poet Arisa White, which won a Nautilus and Independent Publisher Book Award. Laura worked at Children's Book Press and as an editor at Lee & Low Books and is a freelance editor. With an MA in Children's Literature from Roehampton University in London, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Laura lives in Berkeley, CA. She is passionate about equity and true access to all voices in children’s publishing.

Shuli de la Fuente-Lau (she/her) is a mama, educator, and lover of noodles and lots of spice. She is the author of How We Eat and Becoming Siblings. Born in Malaysia, she grew up in California. She is passionate about the intersection of picture books, identity, and important conversations. She currently lives in Singapore with her partner, two daughters, and their three cats.

About the author: Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Naoko Takei Moore is a renowned donabe (Japanese clay pot) and Japanese home-cooking expert based in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of the cookbook DONABE and the owner of TOIRO, a unique shop in West Hollywood specializing in donabe and hand-selected Japanese artisan kitchenware and tableware. Naoko's work has garnered attention from major outlets like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Naoko’s mission is to share the rich Japanese food culture and the joy of donabe cooking worldwide through her shop and various culinary activities.

Instagram: @Mrs Donabe, Toiro Kitchen Account

Julie Ajinkya is a mom, equity advocate and professor of public policy who works to make sure that college is a true possibility for any student who wants to pursue a higher education. She was born and raised in New Jersey, but grew up traveling between the U.S. and India, where much of her large, extended family lives. She enjoys cooking and creating and lives in Washington DC with her partner and two boys.

Intagram: https://www.instagram.com/jajinkya1/

Amazon: Profile and Work

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieajinkya/

Cat Nguyen is a native of Houston, Texas and the daughter of two Vietnamese refugees. When she became an aunt and later a mom, Cat searched high and low for books in English about Vietnamese food and traditions without much success. She decided to write a book for Vietnamese-American families like her own. Cat works as a lawyer focusing on education and civil rights. She is a co-founder of VietLead, a non-profit that aims to connect and protect communities of color. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter, son, and their two cats.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catnguyenwrites

Amazon: Profile & Work

Michelle Li is an award-winning, veteran journalist who co-launched The Very Asian Foundation in January 2022 alongside friend and fellow journalist Gia Vang. Her #veryasian response to a racist voicemail became a global movement of unity. Michelle spent years supporting adoptees through heritage camps and volunteer tours to Korea. She also launched a program to support Missouri children in foster care. All of this led to a congressional award in 2010. Michelle's journalistic work - often dealing with race or gender inequity - has been honored with a national Peabody Award, several national Murrows, and multiple regional Emmys. Michelle lives in St. Louis with her family.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellelitv/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michellelitv

The Very Asian Foundation https://www.veryasianfoundation.org/

Vanessa Lee Christensen is a children's book author and travel blogger based in Stillwater, Minnesota. She graduated with an M.A. in Education & Human Development from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her inspiration for Baby Go! is based on her travels with her children and her life growing up abroad.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cvgotravel/

Website: https://cvgotravel.com/

Amazon Profile: Biography & Work

Ty-Juana Taylor is an endless learner. Born and raised in the small town of Smiths Grove, Kentucky, Ty-Juana received her Masters Degree in Social Welfare and a PhD. in ethnomusicology from UCLA. While always hungry for knowledge, she thinks of herself as being more than just a scholar. Ty-Juana understands the value of community, the power of advocacy, and the importance of valuing the marginalized. She is  a proponent of "Because of them, we can" and that echoes in all of her work. Ty-Juana believes it is essential that she uplifts the voices and stories of people of color and the marginalized in all that she does as an educator, advocate, and therapist. Ty-Juana lives in Los Angeles, California.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ty_juanataylor/

Amazon: Profile and Work

Michael Martinez is a former elementary school teacher, a father, and the founder of LA Compost. Growing up in Los Angeles, he was amazed at the ways in which his family could repair and restore everyday items that he assumed were destined for the trash. He loves riding his bike, eating tacos, and “staycations” with his family in Los Angeles where they live. He is fascinated with life within the soil, and honored to know so many people who are cultivating joy above it. Michael co founded the California Alliance for Community Composting, currently sits on the Board of Directors for the U.S Composting Council, and Food Exploration and Discovery, and was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles to become a Commissioner for the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office.

Instagram: LA Compost Account

Official Websites: LA Compost , California Alliance for Community CompostingClimate Emergency Mobilization Commission

Collin Hall is a dad, creative and biracial Korean-American living out of Austin, Texas with one dog, two children, three chickens and no time. Collin started writing Mostly Me shortly after his first daughter was born with the hope to provide her a foundational way to approach multiracial identity and learning to claim her own space.  He is a decent gardener, mediocre fly angler, adequate husband, and bedtime story reader extraordinaire.

Karen Chan is a mom, author, entrepreneur and attorney who lives in Los Angeles, What’s That? Is her debut children’s book and she is the founder and CEO of Gloo Books. She loves cooking and eating and is always thumbing through a new children’s book or cookbook.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imkarenchan