Maria Paoletta Gil is a former academic Dean and writing instructor with the City University of New York. She has published numerous articles in professional journals and magazines and reviews Indian films, and Korean dramas for American audiences. She has worked as a personal chef, a United Nations tour guide, an exhibits assistant at the American Museum of Natural History, and features writer for the award-winning independent newspaper The Island Current. An ardent animal lover, she rescues lost or abandoned animals, mostly dogs and cats, but once an injured seagull and a baby ocelot. She’s lived all over the world and currently calls New York's Hudson Valley home.