Lashonda N StewartLaShonda M. Stewart, Ph.D., is the author of "The 12 Days of a Soul Food Christmas" and "Emma Jean's Sew-N-Sew." She is the Associate Dean for the College of Business and Analytics at Southern Illinois University. Her areas of expertise are public bugeting and financial management, and her research has been published in academic and business journals. Additionally, the author expresses her creativity by writing children's books and giving motivational speeches. She can be reached at lms10@siu.edu. Read More Read Less