Meet the Author:

Jody P. Walters was born and raised in Southern California, where a love of writing began at a young age- From pretending to take notes while watching the nightly news with her parents as a toddler, to quiet creative writing in her room as a child, to entering submissions to her local hometown newspaper in grade school, and receiving early recognition for her voice, she has embraced the art of written expression. As a middle school student, she won an essay contest, titled “Proud To Be an American”, earning the honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, with her history teacher and Travel Club, during a trip to Washington DC. This experience left a lasting impression and later inspired the theme at the heart of her writing.

She went on to earn a B.A. degree in communications (Journalism) from the University of La Verne, after gaining experience as a writer and editor for school publications, a university magazine, and through an internship at KABC News, in Los Angeles, where she developed a deep respect for the power and responsibility of the First Amendment and the role of storytelling in informing the public through one’s voice.

For nearly three decades, she has devoted herself to raising and homeschooling her five children, where she enjoys creating immersive, hands-on learning experiences rooted in curiosity, creativity, and connection. Her love of children’s books and her artful soul were the inspiration that enabled her to create childhood-literature-themed birthday parties for each of her kids over the years, and have earned her the title “party lady” from friends and family.

Jody is a State Leader for Decoding Dyslexia, the grassroots, parent-led movement that is in all 50 states and beyond, advocating for individuals with learning differences, such as those on the Autism and Dyslexia spectrums, and working to support inclusive education.

Jody serves as a co-chair of the Snickersville Academy for the annual Bluemont Fair in her Northern Virginia community, where she uses her creativity to bring to life an 1825 one-room log-cabin schoolhouse—helping preserve the past and create meaningful opportunities for historical literacy. She is also a member of the Historic Schoolhouses of Northern Virginia.

Having lived in Europe and traveled extensively across the United States, Mexico, and beyond, she has drawn on these experiences to shape her belief in the shared humanity that connects us all. She now lives in Loudoun County, Virginia, in a small historic village with her husband Sean and three of her five youngest children, where she continues to explore the enduring question of what it means to build a more perfect union for us all. What is the -MORE- In A More Perfect Union? Featuring Pauline’s American Pride is her first children’s book—a work shaped by a lifetime of travel, reflection, and lived experience that she hopes will encourage others to find their own MORE in the shared values on which this Great Nation was built!