About the Author

Tom (aka "Odie")

Tom is the award-winning author of books in the Scoochie & Skiddles Inclusive Kids Books Collection. He has been featured on CBS-Philly, and in South Jersey Magazine and Gay Parent Magazine. Tom is also a frequently invited guest on national podcasts, including the two-time People’s Choice Podcast Award winner, The Queer Family Podcast.

Tom began writing children’s books to help increase the visibility of LGBTQ families in children’s books. As such, inspiration for Tom's books often come from his own family - a two dad, two daughter family. Tom also draws inspiration from his experience as a previous foster parent and from the countless families and children with whom he has had the privilege to serve as a licensed clinical social worker. Throughout his career, Tom has helped families build resilience, heal as a family system and discover their own family's unique strengths.

Tom is committed to advancing stories that are inclusive of diverse families. With four books currently in publication and two more scheduled for release in 2024, Tom’s work is helping to fill a significant representation gap of diverse families in kids’ books.

When not chasing after their two-year-old or being used as a model for his seven-year-old to practice applying make-up, Tom enjoys reading adult fiction, working in the garden and being surprised by 5 minutes of quiet. Tom and his family love to travel, especially when that travel includes widening their culture awareness aperture. Tom, his husband and their two daughters live in NJ, outside of Philadelphia. To his children, Tom is known as "ODie" - a shorten version of "Other Daddy."

Professionally, Tom is a NJ Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked with at-risk youth and individuals living with mental illness for most of his career. Through his work, he has truly come to appreciate the value of sharing one's lived experience with others through story-telling. Everyone has a story to tell from which someone else can benefit. It is his hope that telling his family's stories will provide meaning and value to others.

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