The Elephant in the Room: A Childrens Book for Grief and Loss
Amanda Edwards, M.A. has been working in the field of early childhood education for the past 5 years. Her experience includes work with infants, toddlers, and preschool age children, in the education setting, as both a teacher and administrator. She currently holds a membership with the National Association for the Education of Young Children and recently completed her M.A. in early childhood education from Loyola Marymount University. Prior to her graduate work, she completed her B.A. in child and adolescent development with a minor in family studies from CSU, Northridge. Additionally, Amanda has volunteered as a research assistant studying inner-city foster youth, supported children in the hospital setting, and local community organizations. Her aspiration for early childhood education stems from her personal experiences, providing a strong passion to assist young children whom experience grief and loss and their achievement of optimal development. Leslie Ponciano, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist, a professor in Early Childhood Education at Loyola Marymount University, and a researcher examining the social and emotional development of children in non-parental care such as ECE classrooms and foster care.  Prior to LMU, she taught Child Development at CSU, Los Angeles and Applied Developmental Psychology at UCLA. She has experience as a social worker/supervisor in foster care, an infant-toddler teacher, and a behavioral specialist. Dr. Ponciano serves on the Board of Directors for Peace4Kids, a community-based organization serving foster children, and is an advisor for ABCmouse.com, an online early learning academy. She has three children and was formerly a foster parent. Dr. Ponciano obtained a B.A. in Psychology from UCI, a M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education from UCLA. Julia Horwitz is a student at Vistamar High School with a love of writing and drawing, both in fine-point sharpie. In her past experience she has helped to orchestrate an arts summer program for students at an inner-city elementary school in Los Angeles. Her written work has been published in her school’s literary magazine and newspaper and her artwork has been showcased at the Vistamar School Arts Night (It was at this showcase that Leslie Ponciano first came across her drawings). The Elephant in the Room is her first published illustrated work and has been an incredible experience.