SCBWI Pennsylvania: East

Co-Regional Advisor and Equity and Inclusion Team Member Laura Parnum writes quirky and humorous middle grade novels and is a freelance fiction copyeditor. She is an SCBWI critique group leader, volunteers as an elementary school library assistant, and has provided reading and writing support for students in Philadelphia. Her first novel, Peril at Price Manor (HarperCollins 2023), received the Pennsylvania Library Association's 2024 Carolyn W. Field Award for best book for young people by a Pennsylvania author or illustrator. Her second novel, The Haunting of Bellington Cottage (HarperCollins 2025), is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Kristen C. Strocchia is a children’s writer, poetry lover, and proud mom of seven who believes in the power of words to steady anxious hearts and spark wonder. She blends lyrical language, gentle humor, and emotional truth to create stories that help young readers dream big and explore widely—even when life feels overwhelming. Her characters don’t always feel brave, but they are full of hope and determination—just like the real kids she writes for. They are imaginative, uniquely skilled, and ready to make a difference. Her work has earned honors in the 2024 Ann Whitford Paul Awards and the 2025 #PBParty and has been featured in Highlights: High Five. She contributes regularly to the #KidLit community as Co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI Eastern PA and as a blogger for Eastern Penn Points.

Robyn is an author-illustrator, educator, and former advertising creative director with a lifelong passion for blending multiculturalism, art, and magical storytelling. She earned a BA from Middlebury College and a Master’s in English literature from Oxford University’s Lincoln College and Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English. She studied fine art in France, graphic design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and completed an MFA in Fine Arts at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her career spans roles in advertising agencies across New York, Philadelphia, Japan, Luxembourg, and Germany. Founder of the award-winning ad agency Yellow Dog Design Group, Robyn additionally taught creative thinking and design as a professor at Villanova University and several other universities in the Philadelphia area. She has also taught art in a private high school and extends her love of working with young people by mentoring aspiring artists through her consultancy, Art Careers and Education (ACE). Now dedicated to writing and illustrating children's books, Robyn's stories reflect her deep appreciation for the natural world, as well as her invested experience of other cultures through her extensive travels and life as an ex-pat. She hopes her books will transport young readers through imagination into far-off lands and new adventures.

Assistant Regional Advisor Joanne Roberts writes speculative fiction with steampunk flair. Mythical creatures, time travelers, and flying machines populate her middle grade stories and illustrations, just like the books she devoured as a child. As Assistant Regional Advisor, her goal is to celebrate and encourage members on each step of their journey. She counts it a privilege to pay it forward by volunteering in the Eastern PA region.

Berrie Torgan-Randall has been passionate about children’s literature since she was a little girl, and has fed her desire by becoming a children’s librarian and by pursuing a career as an illustrator and writer of children’s books. She is looking forward to making connections with professionals while organizing events for illustrators who are on a similar journey of creating beautiful and meaningful picture books.

Critique Coordinator and Meet & Greet Coordinator Heather Stigall is a picture book-obsessed wife and mother of five (six, if you count the dog). She was born and raised a Jersey girl but has called eastern Pennsylvania her home for most of her adulthood. When she’s not writing, critiquing, or reading picture books, you can find her working out, sewing, baking, or involved in children’s shenanigans and probably dreaming up stories while doing all of those things.

Andrea Denish is passionate about writing picture books that both educate and entertain young readers. She is the author of The Way We Say Hello (Starry Forest Books, 2023) and Everyone Loves a Parade!* (Astra Books for Young Readers, 2020). A former school teacher, Andrea now works in the children’s department of her township library, where she leads a series of nature-themed storytimes. When she’s not at her keyboard, Andrea enjoys tracing her family history through archival research or playfully keeping tabs on her adult-aged twins. She lives in Ambler, Pennsylvania, with her husband and their very spoiled dog, Fozzie. In her role as PAL coordinator for the Eastern PA region, Andrea hopes to support published book creators in expanding their reach.

EasternPennPoints Blogmaster Kristen Rashid is a board certified art therapist, licensed professional counselor, and Asian-American picture book writer from Philadelphia, PA. She has been leading two critique groups for PB creators for many years, and is the recipient of a 2023 12×12 Challenge scholarship. Kristen’s writing often has SEL components with a STEAM focus, and features kids of color engaging in their everyday lives. She draws story inspiration from her child art therapy work, and from her two daughters with whom she regularly enjoys bedtime read alouds, car ride audio books, family critique group meetings, and library visits.

Equity and Inclusion Team Member Rona Shirdan has always loved children’s books but after attending her first SCBWI conference, she knew what she wanted to be when she “grew up.” She can usually be found going through a pile of picture books ranging from poetry and fiction to STEM. She has a special fondness for new writers and hopes to encourage and support them. Rona is a freelance writer, proofreader/copy editor, and sensitivity reader. She works with The Highlights Foundation as their Customer Experience Coordinator and Ambassador. She is also an active supporter of diversity in children’s literature—especially picture books!

Equity and Inclusion Team Member and Peer Mentorship Co-Coordinator Alison Green Myers is an avid reader, poet, and writer. She has served as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, curriculum writer, and school director. She is the Program Director for the Highlights Foundation, a National Writing Fellow, and an active member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. A Bird Will Soar is her first book for middle grade readers and is the recipient of the 2022 Schneider Family Book Award.

Equity and Inclusion Team Member Jenny Krumrine: Before Jenny became a children’s author, she was a scientist. When her children were born, she chose her new career. She writes about things that have always been important to her: science, nature and what it means to live an inspired, kind, happy life. She’s interested in encouraging and teaching children to become good stewards of our planet. What could happen if we don’t take care of planet Earth? Check out her story in Cricket Muse, March 2020: “Trial in Absentia.”

Equity and Inclusion Team Member, Cherise Shane Cherise is a Philadelphia native, lifelong learner, love scholar, language lover, and woman of the word. She loves music, alliteration, and all things artistic, so she incorporates the arts to build inspiration, innovation, and interchange in almost everything she does. Cherise is passionate about using her spoken as well as written voice to empower people with tools of effective communication and purposeful living, loving, learning, and laughing. She loves to use journal writing, especially, and has been an avid writer since elementary school. She is the proud super wifey queen mommy Ph.D.-to-be (SWQMPhD2b) of Dr. D.M. Shane (SHKDPhD) and four beloved girls also known as the A-team (SBPDPhD2b) (Hello! Our acronyms are like super-human versions of SCBWI—lol). Cherise along with her family are aspiring actors, authors, artists, articulators, architects, and agents of change, learning to embrace their gifts unapologetically and with grace.