Melissa Heckler is an author and teacher as well as a storyteller and school librarian. Her book Who Says? Pivotal Essays on Contemporary Issues in Storytelling (August House; co-edited with Carol Birch) won both the Storytelling World Award and the Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice award. She has written articles, chapters, and reviews about storytelling for other publications. In 1999, Ms. Heckler was one of two Westchester educators to receive the Overcoming the Odds Award from Student Advocacy for her work with children in temporary housing. In 1990, Ms. Heckler helped design and implement village schools for the Ju/’hoansi of the Kalahari. She returned with her children in 1991 to continue the work. She has continued teacher training in the schools through the Kalahari Peoples Fund. In July of 2008, she helped launch a website, Kalaharipeoples.net, in the Kalahari.