Mary Brigid Barrett is the president and executive director of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance; the "editor in chief" of NCBLA's publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and the NCBLA's two websites: www.thencbla.org and www.ourwhitehouse.org. She is the author of Sing to the Stars, Day Care Days, a set of toddler board books; and the author/illustrator of The Man of the House at Huffington Row. A professional educator, she taught for seven years at The Rhode Island School of Design and has worked in classrooms with young people ages four through to twenty-two. Currently, she is working on a set of baby board books and a young adult novel, both for Candlewick Press.

Barrett’s most recent publication is the picture book Shoebox Sam, illustrated by Frank Morrison and published by Zonderkidz, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, in July 2011.

For more information, go to: www.thencbla.org/biopages/biobarrett.html.

Edie Ching, former librarian at St Albans School for Boys, now works at the Washington Latin Public Charter School and teaches Children's Literature at the University of Maryland.  She was a member of the 2007 Newbery Committee and a former President of the Washington D.C. Children's Book Guild.

Geri Zabela Eddins is a voracious reader who has indulged a lifelong passion for the written word in her education, work, and volunteer experiences. She is thrilled to be actively engaged in promoting literacy as a staff member of the NCBLA by researching and developing content for www.ourwhitehouse.org. She has written numerous essays for the website, ranging from the compelling history of presidential campaigns in America to the story of how the titles and roles of presidential spouses have evolved since Martha Washington first captivated the nation. Geri is currently Program Director of the NCBLA. Her volunteer experience includes working with children in classrooms and tutoring ESL students at the town library. Geri holds both a BA and MA in English. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two teenage sons.

Helen Kampion graduated from Vermont College with an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She writes historical and contemporary middle grade fiction, and has magazine and web credits. Helen also develops and conducts book clubs for kids at libraries near her home in Wayland, Massachusetts.  If you are interested in Helen's clubs, please contact her at: hkampion@gmail.com.

Heather Lang first put to use her passion for writing and research as a public health attorney. When she took a break from law to raise her four children, she rediscovered her love for children's books. Heather now writes fiction and nonfiction for children, from picture books to chapter books. Her first picture book biography, QUEEN OF THE TRACKS, will be published by Boyds Mills Press in 2012. Heather especially loves the challenge of making nonfiction interesting and engaging for children. She lives in Eastern Massachusetts with her husband and children.

Renee’ Critcher Lyons is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She is also a graduate of Appalachian State University’s Masters in Library Science Program and has worked as both a children’s and youth services librarian. Her publications include reviews in East Tennessee State University’s Now and Then, interviews in Appalachian State University’s Appalachian Journal, and poems and essays in Berea College’s Appalachian Heritage. Renee’ has also placed in the poetry and essay categories sponsored by the Virginia Highlands Writing Contest (Abingdon, Virginia). She currently conducts writing workshops for Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute located in Hudson, North Carolina and also teaches children’s and young adult literature at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.