Jo Fredell Higgins, a retired teacher with a master's degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University, is an internationally published author and award-winning photographer, historian, and essayist. She was named a YWCA Woman of Distinction in 2004 and a Compassion Foundation Community Champion in 2012. She was also named Illinois Volunteer of the Week on April 12, 2021, by the office of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker.
