Renee Simmons Raney is the director of the nationally accredited Georgia-Alabama Land Trust's Conservation Education Institute. Over the past two decades Renee has developed, implemented, and assessed environmental education programs for approximately one million participants through her work with Jacksonville State University Field Schools and the Anniston Museum of Natural History. She is the recipient of awards such as the Roosevelt Ashe Southeastern U.S. Outstanding Conservation Educator and Excellence in Environmental Education recognition from Oxford University. Renee is certified through Cornell University in Civic Ecology Assessment. She has performed storytelling and fairy programs for audiences in twelve states and three countries. Her first book, Calico Ghosts, was blessed by Kathryn Tucker Windham, who, after reading the book, handed Renee an old black click pen and said, "Take my pen and continue to inspire imagination across the South." Alabama writer Karyn Zweifel says, "You might think there's a little fairy blood running in her veins. She's quick to smile, a little mischievous, and completely at home in the forest or on the farm. Renee is a born storyteller, combining her education as a naturalist with her love of imaginative play, folklore, and whimsy."