Photo credit: Kenneth McRae

Crystel Patterson

Crystel Patterson is an Award-Winning Author, Children’s Book Creator, and Advocate for Diversity in Children’s Literature. Crystel is  based in Sacramento, California and is the creator of the Inspired to Be… series, a collection of empowering children’s books that amplify positive Black narratives and promote social-emotional learning and growth mindset for kids. As a proud mother, Crystel writes diverse children’s books that inspire young readers with real-life stories of perseverance, achievement, and self-expression. With a degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley, Crystel’s journey to becoming an author is rooted in her passion for uplifting the next generation. Her work has been recognized in the media and honored with multiple awards for its impact on young readers and communities. Through her books, school programs, and community involvement, Crystel encourages children to embrace their uniqueness, dream big, and believe in their ability to make a difference.

2025 Family Day 

Speaker  – Quiet Voices, Loud Feelings

Dan Alter

Dan Alter’s poems, reviews and translations have been published in journals including Field, Fourteen Hills, and Zyzzyva; his first collection My Little Book of Exiles won the 2022 Cowan Poetry Prize. A volume of translations Take a Breath, You’re Getting Excited, from the Hebrew of Yakir Ben-Moshe, was published by Ben Yehuda Press in September 2024, and Hills Full of Holes, a second collection of poems, by Fernwood Press in March 2025. He lives with his wife and daughter in Berkeley. He works at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley.

2025 Writers’ Workshops

Speaker A Compass in the Wilderness: Poetry in the Age of Environmental Crisis