Dhonielle Clayton (“Dhon” like “Don” or “Dawn”) is a former elementary and middle school librarian, co-founder of CAKE Literary, and Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. She is co-author of YA series Tiny Pretty Things and The Belles, and spent most of her childhood under her grandmother’s dining room table with a stack of books. On Saturdays you could find her with her equally nerdy Dad at Crown Books and then the comic book store where she stocked up on her weekly reading material. Clayton rediscovered her love of children’s fiction when re-reading Harriet the Spy as an undergraduate at Wake Forest, then went on to earn her MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University and an MFA Writing for Children at the New School. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side, but now lives in New York City.

Focused on bettering communities and creating lasting impact, Marielys Divanne is the Vice President, Education, for United Way of New York City (UWNYC). She leads UWNYC’s signature collective impact initiative, ReadNYC, which is New York City's implementation of the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading. ReadNYC launched in District 7, located in Mott Haven, South Bronx, in 2013.

Previously, Marielys served as the National Director of Organizing with Students For Education Reform (SFER), during which time she led the team of organizers to launch and win issue campaigns on education equity throughout six US cities. Prior to her work with SFER and UWNYC, Marielys was a community organizer with Metro NY Industrial Areas Foundation, leading both Manhattan Together (MT) and South Bronx Churches (SBC). While with SBC, she successfully led the campaign to build the Mott Haven Schools Campus in the South Bronx, the largest school construction project in the city’s history, which created 2,200 seats for public school students. 

Marielys is a first-generation College graduate, having earned her undergraduate degree from Boston College and a Master of Fine Arts, Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University. Marielys lives in New York City, with her handsome 13-year old son who attends a New York City public school.

Lavinia Mackall, Managing Director of Schools at Success Academy, taught 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade in Harlem before becoming the Principal at Success Academy Harlem 2. To this day she vividly remembers the tears that welled up in her eyes as she read the final chapter of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to her third grade class that first fall as a teacher. She looked out at her students and saw tears in many of their young eyes as well. It was in that moment that she realized the miraculous journey that she was on - the journey of falling in love with teaching, with her students and with a great book. Since that day she has dedicated herself to great teaching, both as a teacher and as a school leader. She believes that great teaching is transformative for students and teachers alike and that it can all begin with the connection forged through a great book.

Tiffany James has worked for The New York Public Library for 25+ years in various roles. Most of her tenure has been spent as a children's librarian working with children and families in the Bronx. Tiffany is a big advocate for early literacy and parents being involved in their children's learning and development. Tiffany is currently a school outreach librarian for NYPL's Education Department and the MyLibraryNYC Program. Her current role allows her to work with students and educators in grades Pre-K through 12 ensuring that school communities know about the wonderful and vast resources of The New York Public Library. She is a native New Yorker and completed her education there as well, with my MLS obtained at Pratt Institute.