Mona Chiang was born in Hong Kong, lived most of her life in New York City, and now works in Berkeley, California. She started studying art at age 3, has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and a certificate from Beijing Language and Cultural University, and furthered her art training at numerous institutions in New York, most memorably at the Woodstock School of Art. In addition to making art, she had a long career in the publishing industry. She spearheaded the creation of numerous children's books, learning toys, and novelty products for a global publishing giant. Her work has won the journalism prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as many Distinguished Achievement Awards from the organization now known as the Association of American Publishers. In her younger years, Mona also acted on stage, and in film and television, and even a Super Bowl commercial. Her most notable role was a special victim on Law and Order: SVU. (And no, she didn't die. She lived to tell about it.)