As an entrepreneur, and a special needs mom with a social work background, who is “raising readers,” Stephanie has a heart for helping others and a passion for the amazing things that reading can do for an individual and for the family unit. Raised in Houston, she came to Austin to attend the University of Texas, graduating with BA in Psychology with a focus on Human Development and Family Sciences. Stephanie worked as a social worker with the non-profit LifeWorks, helping youth experiencing homelessness transition to safety and success. In 2009, her career took a sharp turn as she embarked on the journey of a small business owner, opening her first 24-hour coffee shop in Austin with her husband. This year she enters her 15th year as a successful entrepreneur having grown Bennu Coffee into a small chain with three locations and over 50 employees, however, she never left her heart for serving her community behind and has weaved that into her business model at Bennu. Outside of her professional life, Stephanie is devoted to her husband, son, and daughter who are all avid readers and is a true fan of the book, “The Read-Aloud Family” which has enriched her own family’s culture of reading immensely. As the mother of a twice-exceptional Autistic daughter, she has been grateful for the gift reading has been to her daughter who finds clarity and comfort in books. And now she is grateful to be a small part of sharing this gift with others as a part of BookSpring. In her free time, she enjoys mentoring, raising money and awareness for various Autism related causes, coaching vocabulary for academic competitions, supporting her kids in their passions, and relaxing with a good book! Favorite Children’s Book: Grover and The Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum, however it is no longer in print, so another very special children’s book to her is Mossy by Jan Brett.