Pat Mora

Born in El Paso, Texas,  poet, writer, former teacher, university administrator, museum director, and consultant Pat Mora is a popular national speaker who promotes creativity, inclusivity and bookjoy. She is the author of many books of poetry and children's books. Her book, House of Houses (2008), is a family memoir told in the voices of ancestors. Her newest book of nonfiction is Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students (2010).

Among her awards are honorary doctorates from North Carolina State University and SUNY Buffalo, an honorary membership in the American Library Association, a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship to write in Umbria, Italy, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Texas at El Paso. She was a recipient and judge of a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a recipient and advisor of the Kellogg National Leadership Fellowships. In 1996, Mora founded Children’s Day, Book Day, a year-long initiative to connect all children to bookjoy, which culminates in celebrations across the U.S. every April 30th.

Mora and her husband live in Santa Fe, New Mexico.