Karen Shiffman Lateiner holds both an M.A. and M.Ed. in Educational Psychology. Throughout her personal life, and her professional career as an infant development specialist and mental health clinician, she has advocated safe and nurturing school environments for all children. Among her greatest influences are her two children who taught her much about life. After retirement, she and her husband traveled the country by motorhome before making Arizona their home. Combining her love of writing and the Sonoran desert, Ms. Lateiner encourages other writers in a Hike and Write group she created.