Author and educator Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico to California, working alongside his parents as a child in the fields of California.

He received his MA and Ph.D. from Columbia University and is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University. He has won several national literary awards, including the John Steinbeck Award, the Boston Globe- Horn Book Award, the Américas Award, the Pura Belpré Honor, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award among others. His four-book series—The Circuit, Breaking Through, Reaching Out, Taking Hold–has been included in the American Library Association Booklist’s 50 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.

Through his roles with the Modern Language Association (MLA), the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the California Council for the Humanities, the Western Association Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (WASC) and Santa Clara University (SCU), he has been a dedicated and effective voice for multicultural dialogue in the arts and education. His work has been recognized by the United States Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, the California State Senate and the Governor and Minister of Culture of the State of Jalisco.