Yoshi's Big Swim

About Mary Wagley CoppKaja Kajfež

Mary Wagley Copp graduated from Smith College and earned a masters in public health from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her career has been primarily focused on strengthening social justice organizations—both as a management consultant and an executive director. She has also taught IB Psychology in Ecuador and set up health fairs in Appalachia. Mary spent several years in the filmmaking world. For one documentary, Mary and her team followed a family as they journeyed from an Ethiopian refugee camp to their new home in Providence, Rhode Island. This award-winning film and the people it featured set the stage for her debut picture book, Wherever I Go. Her nonfiction picture book Yoshi’s Big Swim was inspired by an article about Yoshi’s rehabilitation in the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa, her bittersweet release after 17 years, and her incredible journey to her natal beach. Although not nearly as accomplished a swimmer as Yoshi, Mary also loves open water swimming. She has swum across Narraganset Bay, the mouth of Buzzards Bay, and often across the Westport River in Massachusetts. Her love of open water swimming reaffirms her commitment to clean and healthy waters for all who love and inhabit the oceans. As well as writing for children, Mary teaches ESL to newcomers in her area. She lives in Westport, Massachusetts, with her husband, Allyn. They have three grown children.