Current Staff
Board Members
Volunteers
Past Staff
Current Staff
William Rubel, Director
William is the founder of Stone Soup and the Children’s Art Foundation. In 1972, he gathered together a group of fellow students at the University of California Santa Cruz who shared his vision of creating a magazine written by and for children to highlight their creative talents and inspire them.
William is also an author specializing in traditional foodways, the history of bread, and Early Modern British kitchen gardens. His book on hearth cooking, The Magic of Fire (2002), was a World Gourmand Cookbook award winner and a James Beard nominee. His second book is Bread, a global history (2011). He is currently writing a history of bread for the University of California Press.
William lives in Santa Cruz with his daughter, Stella, and their cat, chickens, rabbits, and aviary birds. You can read more about his other interests at his personal website.
Rosa Bello, Operations & Administration
Rosa joined the StoneSoup.com team in July 2024, bringing over a decade of diverse experience in operations and administration across multiple sectors, including extensive work with nonprofit organizations. Her expertise in streamlining processes, managing teams, and driving organizational efficiency is instrumental in ensuring the smooth running of StoneSoup.com’s daily activities.
Rosa is passionate about creating environments where children can thrive, particularly in fostering their creativity and imagination. Her commitment to empowering young minds aligns perfectly with StoneSoup.com’s mission to inspire and nurture the next generation of creative thinkers. Rosa’s role is pivotal in supporting the platform’s continued growth and ensuring that it remains a vibrant community for young artists and writers.
When she’s not managing the intricate details of StoneSoup.com, Rosa is actively involved in working with other nonprofits as a consultant and advocating for immigrant rights within her community. On her free time, she enjoys running and hiking with her border collie, volunteering, and road trips. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Laura Moran, Refugee Project Director
Laura joined the Stone Soup team in early 2020 as director of the Refugee Project. She also teaches the Society of Young Inklings and Stone Soup summer writing workshop, Anthropology of the Everyday: The Art of Creative Nonfiction.
Laura is a cultural anthropologist with a PhD from The University of Queensland, in Australia, and a master’s degree from Oxford University, in the UK. Her research is on refugee youth and racial identity and she teaches anthropology at universities in the Boston area. Her first book, Belonging and Becoming in a Multicultural
World: Refugee Youth and the Pursuit of Identity, was published in 2020, by Rutgers University Press.
Laura currently lives on the Northshore of Boston, MA with her husband, young son, and 11-year-old daughter, an avid reader and published Stone Soup author!
Joe Sherlock, Copyeditor and Proofreader
Joe proofreads and copyedits Stone Soup’s magazines and books. He is a poet and writer based in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California’s Central Coast, where he enjoys tinkering with old vehicles, reading and writing on the beach, and practicing traditional archery. Joe read Stone Soup as a child and was fortunate enough to become part of the team in 2018. He believes strongly in Stone Soup’s mission of giving a platform to young writers and bringing their work to their peers. He also particularly enjoys learning from the original and unbridled way that Stone Soup’s young poets craft their verse.
Sabrina Guo, Refugee Project Consultant
Sabrina is a young poet, journalist, musician, researcher, social activist, and humanitarian. She is the youngest global winner of the 2021 Poems to Solve the Climate Crisis Challenge, spoke out against climate injustice and performed in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). She is the recipient of the Civic Expression Award and an eight-time national medalist from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She is the winner of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award and the Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award. Sabrina is also an internationally performing violinist, having performed in Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and appeared in UNICEF World Children’s Day music video. She is also the founder of Girl Pride International, a global empowerment nonprofit that uplifts marginalized, refugee, and migrant girls through advocacy, education, leadership, and material support. She is also the founder of Long Island Laboring Against COVID-19, or LILAC, a student-run organization profiled by Disney that donates PPE, meals, and funds, specifically helping disproportionately affected, predominantly-POC areas. Sabrina has been invited to speak as a panelist in various roundtables hosted by elected officials, focusing on combating all forms of hate and discrimination, and advocating for girls’ empowerment to bridge the gender gap. Her activism and humanitarian work has been commended by the White House, Mrs. Michelle Obama, the Senate Commendation Award, and recognized by LI Herald as 2021 Person of the Year.
Board Members
Stone Soup is produced by the Children’s Art Foundation Inc., an educational nonprofit organization registered as a 501(c)(3) in the United States (EIN 23-7317498).
Our Board of Directors offers the organization invaluable advice and expertise in many areas, especially fundraising, children’s education, operational logistics, and financial management. The Board meets every quarter to review progress and discuss strategy with the management team.
Volunteers
Amanda Barnett
Amanda Barnett is a poet, nonfiction writer, and visual artist based in San Francisco. She teaches writing as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus. Her work has been featured in Plants & Poetry, Scapegoat Review, Dillydoun Review, and Wild Roof. She is a graduate of the MFA program at George Mason University. In her spare time, she volunteers at her children’s school and coaches with Girls on the Run. Through her work with Stone Soup, she hopes to inspire children to experiment with writing and art without limitations.
