Joi Barrios teaches Filipino language and literature at UC Berkeley. After completing her Ph.D. in the Philippines, she taught in Japan, at UCLA, and UCI then served as Associate Dean of the UP College of Arts and Letters in Manila. She is the author of over a dozen books including Tagalog for Beginners, Intermediate Tagalog and three collections of poetry. She has won over a dozen national literary awards, a Distinguished Teaching Award from UCB, and three lifetime achievement awards--a "Weaver of History" (one of 100 women selected by the Philippine Centennial Committee); a TOWNS (Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service) Award; and the National Balagtas Lifetime Achievement Award for Poetry in Filipino.