Josefina Casati is the former Editor of ¡Ahora Sí!, the Spanish weekly of the Austin American-Statesman which began informing, inspiring and celebrating Austin’s Spanish-speaking community in 2004. Since moving to Austin in 1998 from northern California, Josefina has held various positions in the Statesman newsroom, and has been part of many community organizations and events including the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Las Comadres para Las Americas, Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Hispanic Marketing Symposium, Feria Para Aprender, Día de Los Niños/Día de Los Libros, the International Latino Book Awards, Austin Leadership, Latinitas and Hispanic Austin Leadership. She has served on the KLRU Community Advisory Board and is currently on the University of Texas Elementary School board. She lives in Austin with her husband Kit Casati, their son Enzo and daughter Iliana.

Gigi Edwards Bryant is a sixth generation Austinite. She started GMSA Management Services, an Austin based business development consulting firm started in 1993 after a 20 year career in information systems. The firm, recognized as one of Texas’ outstanding small businesses, focuses on community outreach/involvement, employee engagement and business development. Gigi serves her community through organizations that address issues surrounding family such as education, youth in the foster system, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.  Some immediate past public service includes gubernatorial appointments with two Chairmen assignments, Department of Child Protective Services and Texas School Safety Center, Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Council, Saint Edward’s University New College Advisory, Austin Police Department’s Blue Santa and the Austin Community College Foundation. Membership Organizations include: Douglass Club of Austin, American Association of University Women, Executive Women in Golf Association, Texas Exes – Life Member, Austin Chapter of the Links Incorporated and Balcones Women Golf Association. A partial list of community honors include:  Distinguished Austinite,   Campfire Promise, Outstanding Texan Award, CASA-Inspiring Leader and Fierce Advocate for Children, Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction, Ma Ferguson – Award of Excellence Finalist, Dedicated Volunteer of the Year, Outstanding Citizen for Leadership. Gigi started her education at Austin Community College in 1977 and transferred to St. Edwards University where she earned a degree in business with a minor in computer science. She earned a MBA in Global Leadership from University of Texas at Dallas.  She a 1992-1993 Graduate of Leadership Austin.

Sarah Bird is the author of nine novels and one book of non-fiction. Her latest, Above the East China Sea, made the Dublin International Award long list; was an ALEX Award nominee; winner of the 2016 Texas Philosophical Society Literary Award; a Chicago Tribune Editor’s Choice; a Seattle Times Best Book of the Year; a Tucson Book Festival Great Books for Book Club selection; and a Marie Claire Best Summer Reads. This past October, Sarah was selected for the Meryl Streep Screenwriters’ Lab. This spring, the Texas Institute of Letters will present her their Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the 2014 Texas Writer Award winner. Sarah has also been a Moth Radio Hour storyteller;  a writer for Oprah’s Magazine, NY Times Sunday Magazine and Op Ed columns, Real Simple, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Salon, Daily Beast, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, MS, Texas Observer; and a columnist for Texas Monthly. Sarah was selected for B&N’s Discover Great Writers series; New York Public Libraries Books to Remember; a Dobie-Paisano Fellowship; an Illumine Award for Excellence in Fiction winner. She is a five time winner of Austin Chronicle’s Best Austin Author and an inductee into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. She has been hired to write for Paramount, CBS, Warner Bros, National Geographic, ABC, TNT, as well as several independent producers.  Her original screenplay, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is currently being developed by Pantheon of Women films. In April the University of Texas Press with publish her latest, A Love Letter to Texas Women.

One of the most beloved and admired American First Ladies, for decades Laura Bush has championed key issues in the fields of education, health care, and human rights. The author of the bestselling memoir, Spoken From The Heart, and co-author of bestselling children’s book Our Great Big Backyard, Mrs. Bush founded both the Texas Book Festival and the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. Today, as the Chair of the Woman’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, Mrs. Bush continues her work on global healthcare innovations, empowering women in emerging democracies, education reform, and supporting the men and women who have served in America’s military. Mrs. Bush was born in Midland, Texas to Jenna and Harold Welch. In 1977, she married George W. Bush. President and Mrs. Bush are the parents of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, son-in-law, Henry Hager, and proud grandparents of granddaughters Margaret Laura “Mila” and Poppy Louise Hager. The Bush family also includes two cats, Bob and Bernadette, and a new rescue puppy named Freddy.