Lauri Cruver Cherian is a writer and an educator, teaching English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education to children and adults for decades. She is a native of Washington State transplanted to South Texas for three decades. Lauri has a master’s degree in Language Acquisition Education from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s in Bilingual/Bicultural Education from Washington State University. She has been a master teacher and a leader of workshops in adult ESL education across South Texas. Lauri is the recipient of several teacher of the year awards including District Bilingual Teacher of the Year in Spring Branch ISD in Houston, Texas. She is a columnist in The Facts newspaper of Brazoria County. Lauri enjoys volunteer teaching adult ESL in her community, and she volunteers at The Center for Arts & Sciences and the planetarium. She and her husband have three adventuresome grown children. Her poem, Courage (2021), dedicated to health care workers during the pandemic, won honorable mention at the Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest. Pandemic Magazine published her poem, “Coronavirus by 2022” (2022). In 2022, Lauri published her debut chapbook of poetry called, Poems of the Point, a tribute to growing up on the beach in the Pacific Northwest and in 2023 she published her second book of poetry, Brave as Thistles. Lauri's children's chapter book, Four Anxious Armadillos is about adventure, anxiety, and the power of friendship. Lauri's newest book is a historical fiction novel set in Tacoma, Washington in 1910. Come On In, Don't Get Lonesome is a portrayal of family, immigration, and belonging in a boarding house that is a living symbol of kindness and hope.
