Meg Medina is the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and which was followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and which was published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books No More Señora Mimí / No más Señora Mimí, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away / Evelyn del Rey se muda, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, Jumpstart’s 2020 Read for the Record selection; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award; and biographies for young readers She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor and She Persisted: Pura Belpré, the latter with Marilisa Jiménez García. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Currently an attorney in private practice, Dan began his career as a decorated federal prosecutor in South Florida for nearly a decade and handled national cases including public corruption, economic and environmental crimes, civil rights, health care fraud and government fraud cases. He then led the prestigious U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington DC. Dan returned home to represent Northeast Miami-Dade as a Florida State Representative and Senator from 2000-2010, and was unanimously elected as the Democratic Leader. Dan went on to serve three terms as Mayor of Miami Beach from 2017-2023. Dan graduated from Tufts University and the University of Florida Law School where he was a national Truman Scholar. He co-founded a summer camp for children with cancer, where he has volunteered most summers since 1986. He is married to Joan Silverstein and they have three kids and two dogs named Buddy and Roxy they are still trying to train (the kids not the dogs).

Tania Francois is an award-winning journalist at CBS News Miami where she serves as an Executive Producer, Impacting Communities (EPIC), helping to tell stories that represent South Florida’s diverse cultural communities and amplify underrepresented voices. Her commitment to impactful journalism was recognized in December 2024 when she won an Emmy Award for her coverage of relief efforts in Cap Haitian and Pignon, Haiti, during a time of severe instability. A seasoned multimedia journalist, Tania has extensive experience in television, digital news reporting, and public relations. She believes that every story holds a valuable lesson. A proud Haitian-American, Tania is the first person in her family to be born in the U.S., right in Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She is fluent in Creole and enjoys exploring South Florida’s vibrant Caribbean food scene.

Luca Martinez is a conservation filmmaker dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the wild and advocating for its preservation. Luca has introduced the rarely experienced Everglades to more than 400 million worldwide viewers. Luca shares about the power of youth voice in conservation around the world as he believes story-telling is key to raising awareness and inspiring action. His work has garnered significant recognition, including a recent Emmy win for his feature on Don’t Trash our Treasure with Louis Aguirre. Luca’s photographs and videos of the Everglades are prominently featured in the River of Grass Exhibit in UNESCO’s World Heritage Collection on the Google Arts & Culture Platform. He is also a contributing writer for Oceanographic Magazine, furthering his impact within the conservation community. Luca’s love for ospreys took him to the Everglades while he was a student at Palmer Trinity School, and he continues to shoot there regularly in between taking classes at Florida International University where he is also an Environmental Fellow. With a deep passion for inspiring his generation and others, Luca remains committed to preserving South Florida’s ecosystem for generations to come; he hopes to be doing this forever.