Outskirts Press, INC.

Author

Donna Belin, PhD., is currently the President of Belin & Associates, a Pacific Northwest consulting and management firm concentrating on improving the American justice system through initiating positive social change. She is best known for serving and protecting children and young adults victimized by abuse and other types of trauma. Drawing on over three decades of criminal justice and educational leadership experience, she created and directed ground-breaking justice programs that continue to serve as best practice models nationwide, promoting the safety and health of children. She is the recipient of numerous recognitions and humanitarian awards, including the Jefferson Award for Meritorious Service presented by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the American Institute for Public Service. Dr. Belin and her husband, Richard, moved from Wisconsin to the Pacific Northwest early in their marriage. They have two exceptional daughters, kind and generous son-in-laws and three amazing grandchildren. In addition to her practice and research endeavors, Donna enjoys sailing, exploring Washington's coastal and freshwater beaches, writing and community involvement. During the past years, the family has traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad, deriving special pleasure from the Evergreen State's local traditions, magnificent beaches and breathtaking countryside.

Illustrator

Born in the West, raised in the South and settled in Bow, Washington, artist Jennifer Wixom has experienced and explored a wide variety of artistic endeavors from large scale, public murals to abstract landscapes. She studied illustration at Brigham Young University and fine arts at the University of Washington. Throughout her life as an artist, she has taught classes, produced a variety of commissioned pieces and illustrated a broad range of literary projects. Not only does her work have a vast, eclectic subject matter and style, but it reflects a colorful tapestry of various mediums. These include watercolor, guache, acrylic, oil, pencil and pen and ink. Outside her professional activities, Jennifer enjoys growing vegetables, hiking and kayaking, reading history and historical fiction, working with youth in her church and community, and most of all, spending time with her grandchildren, four beautiful daughters, wonderful son-in-laws and her practically perfect husband, Clare.

While Belin and Wixom came from divergent backgrounds and professions, their shared love for children and deep appreciation for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest served as the underlying inspiration in the creation of My Washington Baby. This collaboration represents the second for these busy grandmothers, both of whom previously worked together developing the instructive materials for King County Kids' Court, a prominent court education program created to assist child victim/witnesses of abuse and their families address the fear and anxiety of testifying in court. Belin and Wixom currently live and work in spectacular Western Washington, close to loving family and the people and projects most significant in their lives.