Heather 'Byrd' is an award-winning author, writing coach, and CEO of Byrd's World, built to inspire and transform lives one story at a time. Byrd’s work is rooted in the need to unlearn, affirm the Black experience, and live in creative joy. Her artistic practice revolves around the intersectionality between form and freedom, while each story tastes like ripe mangos, cayenne pepper, or an eclectic combination of the two. She is the author of Mahogany: A Love Letter To Black. Byrd’s work has appeared ​in several festivals including The Chicago Theatre Festival and the St. Louis Fringe with ​HERstory of HIStory and inHERitance: the stories we carry. Her work has also a ​contributor in Expressions of ​Englewood, Hope Ignited: Stories of Hope By Women For ​Women, and Trouble The Waters: Tales from the ​Deep Blue. Most recently, she won the 2022 International Anthem ​Award in diversity, equity, and inclusion ​for her ​work on the “I See You” issue of the Cornell Report ​alongside Google, HBO Max, BBC, ​National ​Geographic, Netflix, and The Daily Show with ​Trevor Noah. Her favorite words are balloon and bubble