Meg Medina

Meg Medina is the 2023–2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, an initiative of the Library of Congress in partnership with Every Child a Reader, and the award-winning author of young adult novels and picture books including the Newbery Medal-winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears.

Renée Watson

Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times-bestselling author. Her books include Piecing Me Together, which received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award, the Ryan Hart series, and acclaimed picture books like Maya’s Song and The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, written with Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Brenna Connor

Brenna Connor, Industry Analyst, Circana Books, has been working with data and analytics for a decade in roles including marketing, research, and insights. Connor is a recognized thought leader on trends in the book industry. Her lifelong passion for books and reading combined with a keen understanding of data analysis enables her to provide actionable insights for publishers and retailers across the book market.

Cheryl Willis Hudson

Cheryl Willis Hudson is an author, editor, publisher, and respected member of the children’s book community. She is co-founder of Just Us Books, publisher and packager of books that celebrate African American children, as well as co-author of Bright Eyes, Brown Skin. When I See Spirituals is Cheryl's first book for Holiday House.

Kwame Mbalia

Kwame Mbalia is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Tristan Strong series and the publisher of Freedom Fire, an imprint of Disney Hyperion devoted to stories about the Black diaspora by Black creators.

Bria Ragin

Bria Ragin is a Senior Editor at Delacorte Press, where she works on middle grade and young adult fiction, and edits for Joy Revolution, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books co-founded by authors Nicola and David Yoon, focusing on commercial teen romances written by and about people of color.

Rex Ogle

Rex Ogle is the author of Free Lunch, which won the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award; Abuela, Don’t Forget Me, a finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award; and Punching Bag, a NYPL Best Book of the Year.

Mark Oshiro

Mark Oshiro is the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning Latinx queer author of Anger Is a Gift, Each of Us a Desert, and Into the Light, as well as several middle-grade books and co-author (with Rick Riordan) of The Sun and the Star.

Brein Lopez

Brein Lopez is the general manager of Children’s Book World in LA, a Pannell Award-winning bookstore. He has been a bookseller for three decades and advocates for BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+, and Disability representation and inclusion in all aspects of the children's book industry.

Britt J. Camacho

Britt J. Camacho (she/her) is ABA’s DEIA & Communications Senior Copy Editor, where she reviews content and language standards across the organization for diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. She believes that language is a means of freedom, and that stories help us build the future.

Kai Burner

Kai Burner (he/they) has been a proud member of the book industry since 2016. He is currently the Assistant Manager and Children’s/Gift Buyer at the Bookworm of Edwards, serves on ABA’s Bookseller Advisory Council and Children’s Council, and is a board member of their local pride organization, Mountain Pride.