We are thrilled to welcome Mariko Fujinaka to the Blue Chalk team as supervising writer. 

Mariko is a writer, editor, and project manager who has worked in academic publishing and educational assessment for more than two decades. 

Before joining Blue Chalk, Mariko was managing editor of Thomas Riggs and Company, a book development firm, and worked with such clients as Gale, Chadwyck-Healey, and McGraw-Hill Education. After earning a language degree from UC Berkeley, Mariko went on to Eastern Washington University for an MFA in creative writing. 

Her passions include sewing, knitting, and trail running. 

Photo (above): "My aunt lives in Japan, so I didn't get to see her very often, but I always felt a strong bond to her. This photo of her hands holding a handmade ceramic mug encapsulates so much of who she is. Her hands were always in motion and creating something, either out of fabric, yarn, or paper. Later in life she got rheumatoid arthritis, which affected her hands and disfigured her fingers. I still think her hands are beautiful, though." Photo by Mariko Fujinaka