Adonal Foyle

Retired NBA Veteran Player Adonal Foyle grew up in the tiny nation of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, where he first picked up a basketball at the age of 15. His quest for a college education which ultimately led him to the USA and into the NBA is an amazing and inspirational story of ambition, hard work and a little bit of luck.

The eighth overall NBA draft pick in 1997, Adonal played for a decade with the Golden State Warriors and three years with the Orlando Magic. Adonal graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University and has a Masters in Sports Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He is extremely active in the community and has founded two non-profit organizations: Democracy Matters and Kerosene Lamp Foundation which uses basketball to engage and empower at-risk youth to grow into healthy and well-educated leaders in the Caribbean and USA. Learn more about Adonal Foyle

Adonal Foyle is a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Shiyana Valentine-Williams

Shiyana Valentine-Williams is the Executive Director of Adonal Foyle’s Kerosene Lamp Foundation. She is passionate about KLF’s work to empower the next generation and throws her heart and soul into their youth programs. Shiyana has been traveling to St. Vincent & the Grenadines for more than a decade and considers it a home away from home. A closet writer since a young age, this is her first literary undertaking. Shiyana received a BA in History and Peace Studies from Colgate University, and an MA in International Development from American University. Learn more about Kerosene Lamp Foundation

Toni Pawlowsky

Ever since Toni was a little girl she loved to draw. She never outgrew that, and it became a passion. As a young woman, she began painting in watercolor for the pure joy of it. After receiving an Associate Degree in Commercial Art in Madison, Wisconsin, she ventured out to Colorado where she worked at a newspaper, printing company, and a design firm. Toni returned to Madison and family. My three beautiful sons are always an inspiration to me and I loved having children around me. Their open heartedness, innocence, and quick-to-laugh attitude with an abundance of energy, imagination and life made a wonderful world to live in. Illustrating children’s books has always been a dream of mine. When I paint for children I can visit that world again. See more of Toni’s work