Alma Flor Ada

Alma Flor Ada was born in Camagüey, Cuba on January 3, 1938, to Modesto Ada Rey and Alma Lafuente. She grew up in La Quinta Simoni, a house owned by the family of Cuban revolutionary Ignacio Agramonte. Born into a family of storytellers, poets, and educators, she grew up hearing traditional tales re-told by her grandmother, father, and uncle. At the age of 15, she traded a quinceañera party for summer school in the United States, thus beginning her life as a bilingual person.

In 1970, she and her four children relocated permanently to the United States. She currently resides in Marin County, California, and has nine grandchildren.

The reality of Latino children in the United States has been inspirational for much of her work. Gathering the Sun (Once Upon a World Award) is a poetry ABC book in celebration of farm workers and is held in over 2000 libraries. For example, the picture book I Love Saturdays, y dominos, the chapter book My Name is María Isabel held in 1817 libraries, and two middle grade novels, co-authored with her son Gabriel Zubizarreta, Dancing Home and Love, Amalia all focus on the themes of celebrating heritage while living Latino in the United States. Yes! We are Latinos, co-authored by Isabel Campoy and illustrated by Caldecott Award winner David Díaz, is a combination of poetry and non-fiction depicting the richness of the Latino heritage.

Dr. Ada began her teaching career in Lima, Peru where she taught at the Abraham Lincoln Bilingual School and the Alexander von Humboldt Trilingual School. In the United States, she was an associate professor at Emory University, a professor at Mercy College of Detroit, and the University of San Francisco where she retired as a Professor Emerita. At the University of San Francisco, she directed 160 dissertations in the field of International Multicultural Education. She was a visiting professor at the University of Texas, El Paso, St. Thomas University in Houston, The University of Guam, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, and Fundación José Ortega y Gasset, Madrid, and an author in residence at the University of Texas, El Paso and UC Davis. A renowned speaker at national and international conferences, she has shared her educational vision. She delivered the keynote speech, "Beyond Biliteracy", at the NABE 2014 conference in San Diego, where she was awarded the Mexican Government's Ohtli award for her lifetime contributions to the advancement of Mexican communities abroad through numerous projects such as the Pajaro Valley Literacy Project. In 2008, the California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE) established "The Alma Flor Ada Teachership Award" given annually in her honor.