Noelle Mahone is a media specialist with Leon County Schools. Her love for reading started in kindergarten when she discovered Maurice Sendak’s Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months. She checked it out from the Shalimar Elementary School Library so many times, her mother still groans when she hears the title. Noelle received her B.A. in International Affairs from Florida State University and her M.S. in International Relations from Troy University. She worked for a legislator and then a cabinet member. It wasn’t until she had her children that she started teaching preschool and moved to being a middle school librarian in 2018. Noelle loves to help the students see reading as fun. She currently is a member of Florida Association of Media Educators and sits on one of their committees.

Jamie M. Smith has over 25 years of integrated marketing and communications experience and is currently Associate Vice President of Communications and Government Relations for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF). Smith holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management and Marketing and various industry certifications and is a Gulf Coast Leadership Institute and Leadership Florida graduate. She is the recipient of SCF’s Innovation Grant and Awards of Excellence, and her creative direction has been recognized with numerous state and national awards, including the prestigious Telly Award. She loves gardening and exercising and is an avid reader and collector of signed books of all genres.

Christiana Succar, Ph.D., is a retired secondary English language arts teacher of grades 6-12. Since obtaining her Ph.D. in education, Dr. Succar has also served as a Visiting Professor of Education, is an independent scholar and writes a monthly book review column for the Cocoa Beach Explorer magazine.