Authors

Umma Kayvalyam Berkelman is President and Founder of Ekadanta International Group, and the brainchild behind Sentinels of Peace. Of Indian descent she was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The youngest of three siblings, her parents made education a strict priority. They also taught her to respect and embrace other cultures. Her desire to experience the world brought Berkelman to Hawaii, a melting pot of people and cultures, where she gained work experience specializing in strategic management, sports and entertainment, marketing, television and video production, casting and auditions, communications, and special event management and production. She graduated from Southern Cross University with a Masters in Business Administration. Berkelman served as celebrity agent and represented Hawaii's top entertainment clientele and worked with Hollywood's elite, including the Pussycat Dolls, Hall & Oates, Chris Botti, Ziggy Marley, Smashmouth, The Bangles, Gene Simmons, John Travolta, PINK, Chris Brown, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lifehouse, 3Doors Down, Lionel Ritchie, Eagles, and U2. This book series collaboration was sparked by her desire to show that distinct characters from different cultures can work and live together in peace.

Julia Norton-Dennis was born in Canberra, Australia and lived in Rockhampton, Queensland until she was six. That’s when her father took a job in Hawaii and the family moved to Honolulu, where she and her brother grew up in paradise! She was educated in Hawaii and knew at an early age she wanted to write. She pursued a degree in journalism at the University of Hawaii, and worked as a writer and editor in print, then moved on to broadcast journalism, writing, producing and anchoring newscasts for the number one rated radio show in the state. She also worked as a television reporter for the CBS affiliate in Honolulu for 12 years. She continues her radio broadcast career and writes and produces for cable shows, writes and voices commercials and scripts. Her humorous spirit is infectious, inspiring her co-writers and easing those long tedious days they spent locked up together creating this adventure.

Born and raised in New York, Chimaine Monique Pouteau graduated from the University of Southern California with a Journalism degree and spent her early years enjoying the tight deadlines and fast pace of working in television news, where she won two Emmy Awards. Moving to Hawaii she transitioned into the marketing and public relations field working to promote concerts, events and trying to improve her writing skills. She met her three co-authors on the job and through business partnerships turned friendships they decided to embark on this amazing writing journey to create this wonderful children’s book. She wants to thank her friends and co-authors for sharing this gift and hopes readers laugh and enjoy this book as much as these four authors laughed and enjoyed writing it.

A fourth-generation Japanese American (Crane Child), Jeanelle Tsuruko Kikawa grew up on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. The only girl in a family of three kids, she graduated from the University of Hawaii with a Bachelor in Business Administration in Human Resources. One of Jeanelle’s favorite children’s stories and inspiration for joining this writing team came from the popular illustrated Japanese folktale Momotaro: Peach Boy. Growing up in Hawaii’s unique multicultural environment sparked her and her co-authors interest in writing the book in hopes of expressing their own unique culture to the young readers in a fun and educational way.