Alissa Holder is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, where she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology. She has always had a passion for working with children and works as a teacher at a childcare center in New York City. She is the mother of two children, Ayaan Diop and Alaïa.Zulekha Holder-Young is a graduate of Spelman College, where she earned her bachelor's degree in economics. She has passed on her love of reading to her three children, Amari, Amir, and Aria.