Jesse Byrd is an international award-winning children's book author and the youngest NPR Board member. At 6'8", Jesse pivoted from playing basketball at UCSB to pursue his passion for storytelling. After working at Google in Silicon Valley and later EY in Dubai as Director of Communications for Middle East and North Africa, Jesse turned all of his energy toward his deepest love: making stories for youth and families with a focus on supporting diverse creators and #own voices material. He's written six children's books and helped produce over 40 others as an editor, art director, and publishing consultant. Jesse is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Sandy Kaur Gill is a school teacher of Punjabi decent originally from Toronto, Ontario. Monica Paolo Rodriguez is a Puerto Rico based illustrator and animator who has created art for Scholastic, Marvel, and more.

After Kavya and her family are flooded out of their home in Southeast Asia, they have to make the difficult decision to return and try to rebuild or move away from their native land.
The creators of Seeking Shanti is the same team behind the non-profit Create-Structure and Better Shelter. Over the past five years, Better Shelter has collaborated with leading UN organizations, NGOs, governmental donors and the private sector to provide shelter for the displaced due to climate crises. So far, they have provided 60,000 shelters that benefit displaced families, classrooms and health care facilities in over 60 countries.