Patty Cisneros Prevo

Paralympian Patty Cisneros Prevo (she/her/ella) is a proud disabled Latina, diversity, equity, and inclusion professional, and picture book writer. In 2015, as a parent and 4th grade teacher, she saw a huge gap in children’s literature when it came to diversity. There were few characters of color in the pictures books she read to her children and her Black and Brown students. And there were even fewer disabled characters. With her connections to the disabled community and adaptive sports, she decided to bring those disabled characters to the forefront. 

In 2019, Patty received the Lee & Low Books New Voices Award Honor for Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes. Coming out in June 2023, just in time for Disability Pride Month, the book highlights 15 disabled individuals and their major life and athletic accomplishments. Patty herself is a five-time National Wheelchair Basketball Association Championships winner, a three-time Paralympian, and a two-time Paralympic gold medalist. In 2021, she was appointed to the Congressional Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics & Paralympics.

With a degree in education from Valparaiso University and a Master of Education from the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana, Patty currently lives in Wisconsin and works in higher education as a Student Life Manager for Diversity and Inclusion. She spends her free time training for half marathons and loving on her family—Tony, Elliana, Elliot, and Canela.

Patty Cisneros Prevo is represented by Ana Crespo.