I was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised by a Filipino father and half-Filipino, half-Caucasian mother—two figures that instilled in me a passion to pursue higher education. Growing up, it was reading manga books and other books late into the night, lit by my night light that ignited my imagination. I read so often that my books were taken away when I was punished. However, my continuous reading has allowed me to dream and see the world in opportunities. 

Drawing on my personal experiences, I write to motivate and empower young readers to positively impact their lives and the world. My latest work aims to inspire parents to involve their children in litter cleanup efforts and sustainable living in the hopes of creating a cleaner and healthier planet.

I feel fortunate to be able to share my creative ideas and offerings to the community so that children can take these lessons and apply them in their life. The magical gift we can give our children is a passion to care for the environment and others.

Never did I think that I would become a children's book author. This all started with an idea in the summer of 2022 that blossomed into my first children's book. In high school in Washington State, I participated in many cleanups. I was heavily involved with a volunteer club and would often clean our adopted 116th Street and our campus. I carried this hobby with me to Hawai'i where I planned monthly cleanup events at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. In the year 2022 alone, we picked up 1,844 pounds of trash.  An example of one of our cleanups is pictured here. 

I was influenced by my organized cleanups on the island of O'ahu of Hawai'i. I saw the willingness of the community to help clean heavily littered areas and thought about telling a story with this concept.

I initially wrote a story called "Anita's Magic Gloves" that later transformed into "Anita's National Park Cleanup." While my first idea was about kids cleaning their local park with magic gloves powered by the magic within the little ones, I sat with the idea and scrapped the whole book. I thought about the importance of protecting our environment which led me to think of National Parks. Thus my first book, "Anita's National Park Cleanup" was born!

After putting so many hours into my first book, I realized how fun it is to go through this process. I love seeing the different stages of my bookmaking and putting my ideas into something physical. Due to this, I dream to write more books and already have so many ideas.

I want children to look into my books and see kids that look just like them. I hope that they could feel represented and learn valuable lessons as they read.

In the next few years, I hope to write many more books and inspire children with my content to make a difference in their communities and the world.