Alia Shields is a Florida native who has recently returned to Miami after more than a decade spent in the Northeast. Alia received her B.A. in British and American Literature from New College of Florida and an M.L.I.S. in from Florida State University with an emphasis on Youth Services. She has worked as a children's librarian in Virginia and New Jersey. Currently Alia is a Learning Resources librarian at Miami Dade College. She has served as chair of ALSC's Notable Children's Digital Media committee, been a member of the Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction committee and was most recently on the 2023 Caldecott committee.