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Dominique Richardson is a Lebanese-Jamaican author and CPA who now uses her number crunching excel skills to plot her stories and do good for the young adult community in Tampa Bay. She’s worked in management across the business spectrum—from a Fortune 100 company to a Big 4 Accounting firm, from a tech start-up to several nonprofits. She spends her free time writing books and passing on her love of unicorns to her twin boys. Dominique is the Young Adult columnist for DIY MFA and coauthor of Red as Blood, Book 1 in the Everbeach Series (Spring 2023).
Sorboni Banerjee is a Bengali-American author and Emmy Award winning television news reporter and anchor. With a dad from a small Indian village and mom from Maine, Sorboni’s experiences growing up “mixed” shape her stories. Sorboni is also the host of Find Your Fairytale, YA by the Bay’s online talk show and podcast featuring authors, aimed at inspiring positive change and achieving big dreams. She is the author of Hide with Me, and coauthor of Red as Blood, Book 1 in the Everbeach Series ( Spring 2023).
Laura Taylor is a third generation Tampa native, is the Programming & Bookstore Director of Oxford Exchange. She is a passionate believer in community and locally owned businesses. In her 9 years at Oxford Exchange, she has hosted 10 local book fairs and over 400 programming events, bringing over 250 authors to Tampa Bay’s readers. She has also served on the Tampa Theatre Winefest committee since 2016. Prior to Oxford Exchange, she spent 16 years abroad living in London, Hong Kong and Singapore working as a Chef and small business owner.
Julie Tingley is a child advocate, girl mom, and founder of Wee Macree, a give-back t-shirt brand. After 15 years in the corporate world, Julie made a career change to serve the local community by growing a large women's professional network to 400 members, volunteering for youth-focused charities and events, and creating a business that heightens awareness for children in need. As a regular contributor for Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine, it is Julie's dream to be a published author in the children's picture book genre.
Nana Garga has dealt with words her entire career. She studied broadcast journalism and political science at Syracuse University before becoming a morning news producer in Tampa. Currently, she is a one-woman marketing department for a financial advisory practice. Nena is also the Executive Producer of FIND YOUR FAIRYTALE, bringing her years of television experience to YA by the Bay. Off the clock, she is obsessed with her dog, Disney, and good food. Details are life.
Chely Cantrell is the Library Brand Innovation Officer for Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative where she directs and oversees digital media and public relations, community engagement, and learning experiences. She curates and maintains the library’s brand as it is communicated through various channels. After running the Tampa Bay Teen Lit Fest for the library, Chely is bringing her conference expertise to the partnership between YA by the Bay and the Hillsborough Public Library to further expand the young adult literary community in the bay area.
Libby Cope is the Media Specialist at Leto High School and the President of HASLMS, a county organization for school librarians. Her love of event planning began during her undergraduate studies at the USC-Upstate where she worked with the Student Affairs department planning and facilitating on campus experiences and events. It continued post-graduation during her tenure with the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department. There she planned festivals and helped create a city-wide teen advisory board.
Kimberly DeFusco loves connecting great books with the readers who will love them. She's one of the lucky ones who gets to do what she loves for work, too. At work, she is the Supervisor of Library Media Services for Hillsborough County Public Schools, the 7th largest school district in the nation, supporting middle and high school librarians and organizing district poetry, literacy, and author events. At home, she is bossed around by 3 sassy cats.
Calvin Dillon has taught for 28 years, teaching all levels of both middle and high school English and Reading. He has written items for the ACT test, presented at NCTE, designed county curriculum for Reading, and was a National Trainer for the SpringBoard program. He currently teaches Senior English and is a Resource Teacher, Teacher Talent Developer, GSA Sponsor, and English Department Chair at Steinbrenner High School when he isn't spending time with his daughter, cats, and guitars.
Cathy Holbrook is the Creative Director and Owner of the national award-winning Purple Box Theater in Friendswood, Texas and founder of First Light Players in Hollywood, California. She has directed and produced numerous events from musicals to city holiday festivities involving thousands of people. Cathy brings her directing experience and organizational skills to help facilitate this fabulous event for young adult authors and readers.
Amanda Koji is currently a middle school media specialist in Hillsborough County. She has been in her current role for the past 8 years. Previously she coordinated multiple authors from the Florida Teens Read and Sunshine State Young Readers list for the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) conference. Amanda will use her experience supporting FAME with their author services for her role with YA by the Bay. When she isn’t at school, she is home reading or playing with her two kids and animals.
J. Desiree Rodriguez is an Afro-Latina, four-time self-published award-winning author, professor, former Mrs. All-Star Southeast 2021 title holder, and doctoral scholar. Desiree has over 10 years of strategic communication and community outreach experience. She became a business owner at the age of 23, with a goal to impact youth through literacy and mentorship. For the past two years, Desiree founded and hosts Literature Matters—a literacy outreach festival, that creates a space for diverse books and authors.
Dr. Mike Sherry began his teaching career as a middle and high school literature and drama teacher in New Jersey and has also taught in Europe. At USF, Dr. Sherry teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in classroom communication, English teaching methods, and writing pedagogies. He also serves as co-director of the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project. His research addresses how teacher response during whole-class discussions and to student writing can enable and constrain participation, especially from students who are often marginalized by traditional classroom communication practices.
John Eric Vona is a writer and educator from Tampa, FL. For more than a decade he has taught high school creative writing and English and served as advisor to The Echo Teen Art and Lit Mag. Formerly the Youth Programs Director for the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project, he coordinated the Tampa Bay Youth Writers Conference. His fiction can be found scattered about the internet, most recently published in Etched Onyx Magazine, and he is a contributing columnist with Slate Magazine.
