About Us
Joy for Books enriches young minds by providing access to culturally diverse children's books, fostering a love for reading and learning. Through our Read & Receive events, financial literacy initiatives, and curated book collections, we connect children with stories that reflect a multitude of experiences and backgrounds. Collaborating with educators and community groups, we ensure that children receive inclusive literature that inspires empathy and broadens perspectives.
Read & Receive Events
Our Read & Receive events bring stories to life by connecting children with volunteers who share engaging, diverse books. These events cultivate a love for reading while introducing young learners to various cultures, experiences, and voices.
Who participates? Volunteers from diverse backgrounds—educators, professionals, and community leaders—visit schools and community spaces to read aloud to children.
What’s read? Books featuring diverse characters and cultural experiences, helping children see themselves in stories while learning about others.
Why it matters? These events not only promote literacy but also create meaningful connections between children and role models who emphasize the importance of education and representation.
Financial Literacy Read & Receive
During April and May, our special Read & Receive events introduce young children to essential money concepts through engaging, accessible stories. Volunteers read books that make financial literacy enjoyable and relatable, helping children build a strong foundation for smart money habits.
Curated Book Collections
Our curated book collections are thoughtfully selected sets of culturally diverse children's books, designed to reflect a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and voices. These collections assist educators, librarians, and families in providing children with high-quality literature that fosters inclusion, empathy, and literacy development.
Meet the Board
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Joy E. Triche
FOUNDER & BOARD PRESIDENT
Joy has spent her career in educational publishing, honing her operations skills during a nearly decade-long stint at National Geographic School Publishing. After spending years helping others self-publish their books, she started her own publishing company Tiger Stripe Publishing (TSP) with a mission to publish children’s books that feature BIPOC characters. TSP published nearly a dozen children's books. The company became a platform to advocate for the creation of more BIPOC content through relationships with organizations such as the American Library Association.
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Arthur N. Turnbull
BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
Arthur Turnbull began a career in technology as Technical Wizard for Jackbox Games, maker of the video game series "You Don’t Know Jack". He continued on as Technology Manager for Discover Music Discover Life, a leader in fine arts curriculum development and supplemental education provider for Chicago Public Schools. In 2018, he started Arturo Solo LLC, a managed cloud services consultancy. Arthur is also a co-founder of Wildflower LLC, home to The Music Snobs and Snobs On Film podcasts.
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Janet Beason Ed.D.
BOARD TREASURER
Janet is an educator with degrees from The Ohio State and Arizona State Universities. During her many years as an educator, she taught first grade, and grades four through eight. She has taught in schools all over — Caribou, Maine; Omaha, Nebraska; Evanston, Illinois; Marysville, California; and Izmir, Turkey. Janet worked in the Avondale School District in Arizona for 30 years as a teacher, computer coordinator, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent. Currently, in her retirement, she works as adjunct faculty and supervises student teachers for Rio Salado College. Janet is the member of several boards in addition to Joy for Books.
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Jean Zartner
BOARD SECRETARY
Jean has a master's degree as a K-12 Reading Specialist. She taught 7th grade developmental and remedial reading classes for 11 years. Then she became an instructional designer, creating corporate training programs. For the past 15 years, she has helped college faculty create courses. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and enjoys hiking and driving in the mountains. She spends a lot of time enjoying books and movies. She teaches ballroom, swing, and country-western dancing and goes dancing several times a week.
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Raquel Monroe, Ph.D.
BOARD MEMBER
Raquel is an interdisciplinary performance scholar/artist/administrator and mother whose scholarship appears in journals and anthologies on race, sexuality, dance, and popular culture. She is currently the Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Academic Affairs and a Professor in Theatre in Dance at UT Austin. She formally served as a professor in Dance and Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Columbia College Chicago where she developed policies and procedures for hiring diverse faculty, created and facilitated pedagogy workshops, offered programming grants, and antiracism training for faculty and staff throughout the institution. As an artist, Raquel is a member of the Propelled Animals collective.
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Ela Aktay
BOARD MEMBER
Ela began her career in educational publishing over 30 years ago. She is an education consultant, learning designer, and curriculum developer and has led the development of large, multi-component print and digital learning programs. Over her career, she has worked with National Geographic Learning, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Scholastic to create engaging learning experiences accessible for all students. Ela is also a writer and a certified meditation facilitator. Her favorite children’s books are The Snowy Day by Ezra Keats and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
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LaArnie Lucas
BOARD MEMBER
LaArnie has an extensive background in creating strategic partnerships which focus on building and restructuring organizations in both the private and non-profit sectors. She brings a unique perspective of over 30 years combined education and experience in business administration, human resources, and information technology. She has demonstrated her genuine passion to serve children and young adults in the underserved communities of Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson, Arizona.