We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America

Joanna Ho is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of many children’s books, including We Who Produce Pearls, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, and The Silence that Binds Us, her debut young adult novel, which received the Young Adult Honor for the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. She earned her master’s in educational leadership at Berkeley, and her passion for equity in books and education is matched only by her love of homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids.

Born in Atlanta to Thai and Indonesian immigrants, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya studied neuroscience at Columbia University before becoming a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and activist. Her work examines the unseen labor of women, amplifies AAPI narra­tives, and affirms the depth, resilience and beauty of communities of color. Her art has reclaimed space in museums and galleries, at protests and rallies, on buildings, highway tunnels, subway corridors, classrooms, and on the cover of TIME magazine. Amanda has been artist-in-residence with the NYC Commission on Human Rights and her work has been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of the City of New York, the Museum of Chinese in America, and the Library of Congress. In 2023, she was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities where she advises the President on how art can foster community well-being. Amanda and her husband live in Brooklyn, NY.