Joy Nicolas is a Filipino-American author-illustrator and certified child life specialist with an MA in Early Childhood Education. Though Joy primarily works digitally, she is exploring art mediums such as gouache, collage, and pan pastels. Her painterly and whimsical illustrations are inspired by the children that she supports emotionally in the hospital setting. Joy utilizes her knowledge in child development, education, and social-emotional learning to advocate for every child’s story to be told in a beautiful, yet truthful way. Joy resides in the Bay Area, CA with her husband and two littles. Aside from working at a children’s hospital and creating picture books, Joy enjoys an iced coffee with a croissant, arranging flowers, and listening to a captivating podcast or audiobook.