Teresa “Erin” Parker (Absentee Shawnee/Kiowa/Cherokee/Kickapoo) is a Native American educator living in Tulsa, OK. In 2022 she received a scholarship through the Cherokee Nation Film Office for a Writing for the Screen Workshop at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa. During that Writing for the Screen Workshop she developed a 5-minute short from logline to final screen play. She has written curriculum for middle school students, piloted a Native American Literature class for middle school students, and helped revise Oklahoma History curriculum to include the Native American perspective. She wants to use her talents as an educator and writing cultural curriculum to create historically accurate stories in a way that children of any age can learn from and enjoy. Erin’s favorite things to write about are emotionally complex mothers and the children they are raising, especially in the realm of historical fiction. She believes that cultural identity leads to academic success for the Native students that she currently works with and all the children she will reach with her writing.