Flor Marie "Neni" Sta. Romana-Cruz is an award-winning writer, an accomplished educator, a noted children’s book critic, a reading advocate and freelance journalist. Prior to her appointment to the NBDB, Sta. Romana-Cruz chaired the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and was likewise a board member of the “Sa Aklat Sisikat” Foundation, an organization which promotes book reading and lifelong learning. Some of the award-winning books she authored were the following: Why the Piña has a Hundred Eyes and Other Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits which won the 1993 National Book Award for Children’s Literature and a biography of Gabriela Silang which received a National Book Award citation for excellence in 1992.
Sta. Romana-Cruz graduated cum laude from St. Scholastica’s College and holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University. She has also taken courses in children’s literature from Michigan State University. Neni taught writing to talented elementary school students at International School-Manila, where she headed the Children’s Media Center.