AprilĀ 12, 2018 6:00pm – 10:00pm The City Club of San Francisco When a child opens a bookthey begin a journey of connection to words, images, and experiences. Bridges build connectionbetween children and the world today, and create the possibility of the world they will encounter tomorrow. Will you join usto bridge the opportunity gap that too many children in the Bay Area continue to face every day? Featured Guests Confirmed children’s book authors and illustrators Jim Averbeck Carmen Bogan Nidhi Chanani GenniferĀ Choldenko Danielle Anderson-Craig Arree Chung Maya Christina Gonzalez Marcus Ewert Jess Hong Innosanto Nagara Ana Aranda Kenard Pak Jewell Parker Rhodes Gayle Pitman Dashka Slater Maggie Tokuda-Hall Diana Toledano Host Committee Charlotte Burchard and Bahman Sheikh-Ol-Eslami Laurie Edelstein and Scott Andersen Interim Mayor Mark Farrell Ryan Hazelton/Evan Young Summer Laurie Jackie Schmidt-Posner and Barry Posner Michele Stillwell-Parvensky and Ryan Tierney Kirsty Traill Sponsors Literacy Lover – $5,000 Sponsorship Reading Rock Star – $2,500 Sponsorship The Dolislager-Johnson Family Book Buddy – $1,000 Sponsorship AsianParent.com Bank of San Francisco Jerry Tung Venable LLP Wait Cellars (in-kind) Wells Fargo The Wertz Family Event Committee Julie Barton Jaimi Cortes Weston Fillman Ryan Hazelton Sarah Kolterman Michele Stillwell-Parvensky 2017 Gala Highlights