Gratitude, Leadership, and a Call to Action from Isabel Estrada O'Hagin, the 2021 SCBWI Tribute Fund Awardee

This February, our Regional Advisors, Jodi McKay and Carrie Pearson, congratulated me on

being named the recipient of the 2021 SCBWI’s Tribute Fund Award. A complete surprise, I was

honored to receive this recognition and thought there were many others who deserved this

award. Being a volunteer means it’s a team effort and that someone else has been doing the

groundwork (more on this later) and for that I am grateful. Thank you, Michigan friends, for all

your well wishes posted on social media!

It’s been a joy to be a member of SCBWI and to serve as a volunteer. Getting the Equity & Inclusion Team off the ground in 2019 and serving as the Team Leader these past 18 months has been challenging yet rewarding. Some of the projects we worked on include the Members For Members

Scholarship Award, the Books With Barbers book drive, and the E & I Corner blog. Another aspect of my volunteer work has been to re-establish the Kalamazoo Area Shop Talks (KAST) with Melanie Bryce. We have enjoyed engaging our community and supporting our local members. 

Being part of the SCBWI-MI Leadership Team has been a real eye-opener, too. You probably already know this... it’s a group of super people who in their humility hide their masks and capes and the big “V” on their leotards. In all these roles one of my greatest joys is getting to know other people who love kidlit!

According to Carrie and Jodi, the SCBWI Tribute Fund commemorates members of the

children’s book community, their lives, and their work by funding all-expense scholarships to

the SCBWI International Summer and Winter Conferences for the general membership. The

nominations are made by the region and the awardees are determined by our headquarters. I

was fortunate to have been included in a group that includes volunteer extraordinaire, Charlie

Barshaw, who received this award in 2014.

From Charlie...

I began my journey with SCBWI in 2009, years after my wife, Ruth, went to a New York conference with an empty sketchbook and came back inspired to create Ellie McDoodle. Soon after I joined the

SCBWI-MI Advisory Committee (the former Ad Com) and helped to put together conferences. 

In 2011, Leslie Helakoski asked me to promote a program called “Networks Day,” when local

groups of SCBWI members would gather to network and get to know each other. In 2012, I

promoted it as “Your Area’s Got Talent,” and by January of 2013, writer Michelle Bradford

convinced me to work with her to create a monthly group in Lansing called the “Mid-Michigan

Meet Up.” In September of that year, former RA Ann Finkelstein took over to co-host our

meetings. Soon, other regions of the state formed their own “Meet-Ups” which over the years

morphed into “Shop Talks.”

In the intervening years I’ve helped run two conferences at Mackinac Island, and I’ve

interviewed editors, agents, illustrators and more writers, veteran and just-starting out, than

you can shake a pen at for The Mitten Blog. And I’ve met the kinds of generous and talented

people who populate SCBWI-MI. It was an honor to receive the Tribute Fund Award, but the

real honor has been working with the extraordinary creative talent here in Michigan.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Charlie. How many times have you heard that folks

in SCBWI-Michigan are a friendly, supportive bunch? Volunteering is a team sport. It is good

work that can leave you feeling satisfied to know you made a difference in supporting the

efforts of other creatives within our organization. Whether you’re an organizer, a presenter, an

educator, a tech-savvy guru, or an all-hands-on-deck volunteer, we all gain when we take the

time to lend a hand and become involved.

Take a minute to think about where your strengths lie and how you can share them with others

to make SCBWI Michigan a better team. Volunteer—find the time—the returns are great.

Will you join our team of volunteers? Let’s do some good work together!

Storyteller Isabel O’Hagin (Ph.D.), writing as Ysabel Estrada, has been a member of SCBWI since 2013. As a pre-published author, she writes stories steeped in Latino culture based in the southwest where she lived most of her life. She has written two middle-grade novels, several picture books and is currently working on a YA novel. In 2018 she was recognized as a runner-up in the SCBWI-MI Novel Mentorship Contest. Her publication credits include teacher education articles, book chapters in early childhood music, and serving as the editor for a state education journal.

SCBWI-MI welcomes new volunteers for ongoing and occasional needs! Read more and find a link to the volunteer form. 

Coming up on the Mitten Blog this summer:

A Writer Spotlight, Ask the Editor, E&I Corner, and our quarterly Hugs and Hurrahs! We want to trumpet your good news! To be included, please email your writing/illustrating/publishing news to Sarah LoCascio by June 8th.