Photo credit: Ahaana (daughter)

Sonali Patodia

Not born with a quill in her hand but a courageous will to take a stand, Sonali Patodia recognizes the power of storytelling and its ability to shape young minds. She felt compelled to address deep-rooted societal issues in simple yet impactful ways. Fascinated by cultural traditions, she constantly finds creative ways to pass them along to future generations. Beyond writing, Sonali shares her journey as an author on her blog, engages with her audience on social media, and finds solace in art. Born and raised in India, she now lives in California with her husband and two teenage daughters.

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