Shane K. Bernard, New Iberia, Louisiana, is historian and curator of McIlhenny Company, producer of TABASCO® brand pepper sauce, and Avery Island, Inc. He is the author of Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues; The Cajuns: Americanization of a People; TABASCO®: An Illustrated History; and Cajuns and Their Acadian Ancestors: A Young Reader's History.

Born in Aix-en-Provence (France), Faustine Hillard benefits from a rich, dual heritage, with the experience of American and French cultures and language at an early age. She holds a Master's degree in French and Francophone studies, and she has worked with young people in university and parochial settings, in high-school and junior-high levels, in small rural day schools, and in large urban boarding schools.

She co-founded the local chapter of Alliance Française. As program administrator, she designed cultural and educational programs, including heritage language classes for descendents of the Acadian diaspora.

A translator and cultural activist, she worked with CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana), environmental activist Greg Guirard, and author and historian Shane K. Bernard on questions regarding French Louisiana's ethnic identity and linguistic diversity.

As a teacher, she finds joy in inspiring others and believes that creativity, authentic relationships, and exploration best open the worlds of culture and possibility to students. Passionate about the power of education to transform lives, she is committed to the values that help realize this vision: engagement, active listening, respect for diversity, and purposeful action.