Events › TFOB Panel: Sana Sana: Healing Through Heritage

Tap into ancestral and community wisdom in this panel that involves a healthy dose of self-care and self-empowerment from three writers with diverse backgrounds: A licensed clinical social worker and trauma specialist, a clean-beauty company co-founder, and a poet-community advocate.

Author panelists:  Ann Murray Dunning, Vanessa Pezo, Taté Walker

Moderator: Lucero Ramirez

There will be an opportunity to get books signed after the panel.

For more information, visit Tucson Festival of Books 2026.

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Ann Murray Dunning is the co-founder of "Senora Era," a newsletter and media company and the co-author of "Radical Señora Era," a manifesto on embracing cultural roots, joy and rest. A proud Chilean-American, she co-founded Vamigas, a Latina-owned skincare brand that was carried at Target, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods. She is also an angel investor supporting and mentoring early-stage, women-led startups in health and wellness.

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Vanessa Pezo is a Latina trauma therapist, speaker and author based in Long Beach, California. In her private practice she works from an anti-oppressive lens using EMDR, Narrative Exposure, and culturally affirming practices to help diverse survivors of trauma find healing and recovery. Her first book is "The Latinx Guide to Liberation," which explores how historical traumas like colonialism and white supremacy have impacted the Latinx community.

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Taté Walker is a Lakota citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. They are an award-winning Two Spirit storyteller and author of "Indigenous Voices" and "The Trickster Riots." Walker has 20+ years of experience in print/digital journalism and advocacy writing, and is a trusted community builder within social justice and tribal education spaces.