The Teaching Artist as A Change Maker

Past Event
May 13,2021


A Conversation with Mesa Refuge Alums Tiffany Golden and Laura Atkins

From the Mesa Refuge Gathering Room

Meet 2021 Change Maker Tiffany Golden, a teaching artist with Chapter 510, the Oakland-based workshop teaching children to write their stories.

Tiffany and fellow Mesa alum and award-winning children’s author Laura Atkins will talk about their experiences bringing diversity to storytelling and working with writers, young and old, to publish and share their own stories—and how they view the potential of this work to change the world. Tiffany will lead an activity that encourages participants of all ages to combine words and images in new ways.

This program is co-presented by the Mesa Refuge and Chapter 510. Event is free, with donations supporting the collaboration between Mesa Refuge and Chapter 510.

Tiffany Golden was trained in motion picture production at the Academy of Art University where she found a love for writing. She is the author of the Midnight Story Series, a children’s fantasy series. She received an MFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to her own work, Tiffany has passionately worked with school-aged youth for over 15 years in an effort to support them in sharing their voices. Tiffany was the first recipient of the Judith Tannenbaum Teaching Artist Fellowship at the Mesa Refuge.

Laura Atkins is a children’s book author, editor, teacher and founder of the Manzanita Children’s Book Hub. She co-wrote the award-winning Fred Korematsu Speaks Up with Stan Yogi, and Biddy Mason Speaks Up with Arisa White, which they have presented to more than 8,000 students. A former editor at Lee & Low Books, Laura received an MA in Children’s Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She is passionate about diversity and equity in children’s books.

Register HERE