Joan Arnay Halperin is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with a BA in Speech and Drama. She earned a Master of Arts Degree in TESOL, and devoted many years to teaching, grant writing and teacher training at various New York City Public Schools.

In 2012, while doing research for this book, Joan learned of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and his heroic acts. She now dedicates her energies to the Sousa Mendes Foundation as a member of the SMF Educational Initiatives Committee (and babysitting the grandkids).

Joan is working on her second book, a memoir about reconciling her parents’ old-world values with a 1950’s teenager’s need to “fit in”.