Author Profiles

I was privileged for 30 years to offer my teaching gifts and talents to the children of Columbus (OH) Public Schools and other Ohio schools as a teacher, High School Principal and Supervisor. I taught English, drama and speech, and directed several student productions. I incorporated my own theatre company, Our History Awakens® in 2010. Our mission is Commemorating the African-American experience in American History through living history and engaging educational activities “…lest we forget”. I am the author and publisher of two books in a series, Our History Awakens: Creating My Living History Avatar. And Our History Awakens: Creating Your Living History Avatar. Both are available on Amazon.com

I developed the curriculum for, instructed in and performed in the 2010 The Ohio State University African and African-American Studies summer residential program. Since 2009, I continue to be a featured performer for The State of OHIO’s Black History Month celebration in the Ohio Statehouse Museum. I have performed at The Fair at New Boston, an authentic 18th re-enactment fair in Springfield, OH for five years. I instructed as a Professional Teaching Artists through the Adaptation, Integration, and the Arts Program through The State Organization on Arts and Disability, VSA Ohio. I am a proud founding member of the production company, We’ve Known Rivers®: Timeless Stories in the Black Experience along with Dr. Annette Jefferson and Mr. Anthony Gibbs. As of 2019 We’ve Known Rivers® has performed for 10 years as the OHIO Statehouse’s Black History Month Program.

From the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, Cleveland OH I earned my Teaching Artist Professional Development Module 1 Badge for Program Development which qualifies me to address Domains of Positive Youth, Multiple Learning Styles, and Positive Reinforcement Techniques during my K-12 classroom performances.

Matt Rapposelli has been a leader in southeast Ohio’s dining scene since 1982 and is known for developing destination dining experiences, including the award-winning Big Chimney Baking Co. and the Lake Hope Lodge. He is the executive chef of Kindred Spirits, the restaurant for the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls in Logan, Ohio.

For more than 30 years, Mark Rea has been a writer, journalist, editor and columnist at newspapers and magazines for such companies as Scripps-Howard and McGraw-Hill. Throughout the course of his career, Rea has won several writing awards, including several national first-place honors from McGraw-Hill in 2002 and 2003, and an honorable mention in 2004 from the Football Writers Association of America. In 2009, he authored the book The Die-Hard Fan’s Guide To Buckeye Football.

Rea is the managing editor emeritus of Columbus Sports Publications, a Columbus, Ohio-based firm that publishes sports-related fan newspapers including Buckeye Sports Bulletin and manages the Internet website BuckeyeSports.com. Rea and his wife, Lisa, reside in Washington Court House and have a daughter Jessica, who is currently a graduate student working on her Ph.D. in psychology at Ohio State.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kiya Renae attended the University of Cincinnati where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Criminal Justice concentration). During her studies in undergrad, she was offered multiple opportunities to model that she declined in order to fully focus on her degree. However, after being unsuccessful in finding a job following graduation, she took on some of the modeling opportunities that had been previously offered which later afforded her music video opportunities and magazine spreads with well known artists. Unfulfilled in the industry, and still in search of her ultimate purpose, Kiya Renae enrolled in the Northern Kentucky University where she found herself torn between continuing down the career path of “modeling” or furthering her education. She decided to pursue her degree, earning a Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (MSIO) and close the chapter on modeling. Kiya Renae chose the Psychology field in hopes of learning more about herself, personal growth and development. Being raised by a single mother in a family that applauded academia, Kiya Renae was often thought of as the family rebel. Although never leaving her academic roots; piercings, tattoos and urban modeling were far outside of her conservative upbringing. Her search for herself in these two separate yet equal worlds has heavily influenced her creative writing style in expressing the feelings of being torn in searching for your identity. Prior to releasing ‘Through Her Own Eyes: This Is Only the Beginning’, Kiya Renae has often been asked to write and speak at small engagements because of her unique ability to communicate effectively yet in a way that people can both understand and relate to. After releasing ‘Through Her Own Eyes’, a year later she continued to share her introspection with her release of ‘It’s Ok To Be Broken’. While she chose not to release her titles as a series, ‘It’s Ok To Be Broken’ picks up where ‘Through Her Own Eyes’ left off. With the continued support and positive feedback, Kiya Renae has no plans to stop sharing nor to stop encouraging through her gift of writing. Still working towards living in her purpose, Kiya Renae decided to pursue her Doctorate in Leadership Studies and in the midst took on the challenge of releasing her third text, ‘UnRefined’ which she documents is the most personal, most emotional text that she has yet to release. Frequently faced with the unprecedented ups and downs, ‘UnRefined’ is a documented journey to self-love. Kiya Renae states “I hoarded this text because I had to prepare myself for the level of transparency and to be honest, I thought I would be in a different space literally and figuratively by the time I decided to publish.” ‘UnRefined’ is a show of raw appreciation for the self. Too often people neglect the being within; Kiya Renae wants you to be still, get to know yourself, accept yourself and love yourself; journey with her in her latest release, ‘UnRefined: Still Learning, Still Growing’.