Mimo Khair was born in Lebanon. She graduated from The American University in Beirut, and moved to New York at age 21, where she first discovered her passion for art overall, and photography in particular.

She attended the Parsons School of Design and later apprenticed with Vietnamese photographer Noc Nol. Since 1996 Mimo's photography has spanned the globe. Her photo exhibits mostly feature her favorite subjects: children, ancient monuments, and landscapes from her travels.

Mimo's photographic works are used in renowned educational programs internationally-including Talking Hands Talking Feet, New York's Earth School, Something Good in the World, and the Shalom Templata multicultural program.

Since 1997, Mimo has led summer art camps for children in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. She founded the acclaimed Blue Star Youth Movement to foster budding talents in art and photography for teenagers.

She currently lives in Shanghai with her husband and young daughter.

Mark Siegel was born in Michigan and grew up in France. He returned to the USA when he attended Brown University, majoring in creative writing and fine arts.

Mark has illustrated several award-winning children's picture books published by Simon & Schuster, including the Texas Bluebonnet winner Seadogs and Robert F. Sibert Honor Book To Dance, co-created with his wife Siena, won critical praise for inspiring young readers to follow their passion in the arts (see www.todance.info)

Mark is also the Editorial Director of First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. First Second is dedicated to publishing high quality graphic novels for all ages; these have garnered considerable praise and numerous awards, including the Printz Award and a National Book Award nomination for American-Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and the New York Times bestseller The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert. (see www.firstsecondbooks.com) Mark has taught and lectured internationally on the arts. He lives in New York with his wife and two young children.

Brigitte Khair Mountain was born in Lebanon. She graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and a Masters in Public Health. She worked for different NGOs before being recruited to the United Nations to manage LIFE programme in Lebanon. She later moved to NY, then to Geneva, and now works as a consultant and writer. She has travelled extensively, worked with different UN organizations in New York, Iraq, and a number of African countries. She served on board of the International School of Geneva, and is now a board member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation she helped found that advocates security and neutrality of humanitarian workers around the world.

Brigitte lives in Geneva, Switzerland with her three daughters.

Jody Kennedy received her Masters in Art Education from the College of New Rochelle in New York. For the last sixteen years, she has taught Middle School students in White Plains Public Schools, NY. Ms. Kennedy holds a certification in Distance Learning from Texas A&M University in College Station,Texas. She currently serves as a virtual trainer and consultant with the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration in Cleveland Ohio. She is the founder of the Global Ambassadors program and the Global Run project which is highlighted on the United Nations' UN WORKS For People and the Planet website.

Connecting with over 26 countries, Jody provides a virtual stage for youth to share ideas, art, music, and poetry-she has pioneered live videoconferencing to promote a global, borderless classroom. Jody's expertise in interactive technology brings young people all over the planet face to face, in real time, to celebrate culture and art and a collaborative vision of humanity.

Jody has written countless articles as a passionate champion for tomorrow's world citizens. Her work has been praised and reported on all over the world.

Jody has four daughters and one grandson. She lives with her husband in Mahopac, NY