Antoinette "Tiyi" Schippers was born in the Chicago area during the mid-20th century as the third child in a family of ten. Raised in a rich culture of storytelling, Tiyi learned at an early age how to captivate an audience with vivid and lusty tales. She has been an early childhood educator for 40 years, is an accomplished songwriter and traditional American music performer and has served as a city council member for nearly a decade in the small northern Michigan town wherein she and her husband have resided for the past thirty-five years. Tiyi is the mother of four children and enjoys being a grandmother to five children.