Jo Elizabeth Pinto

2022 Corn Mother Honoree

BIO

Jo Elizabeth Pinto was among the first blind students to integrate the public schools in the 1970s, when federal law changed to allow special needs children into mainstream classrooms. Her first husband fell ill with Lou Gehrig’s disease soon after their marriage in 1991, and over the next ten years, their home became a refuge for many disadvantaged kids who needed adult companionship and guidance. In 1992, Jo Elizabeth received a degree in Human Services from the University of Northern Colorado. While teaching students how to use adaptive technology, she earned a second degree in 2004 from Metropolitan State College of Denver (now Metropolitan State University - Metro State) in Nonprofit Management. These days, she freelances as an editor and braille proofreader.
As an author, Jo Elizabeth entertains her readers while giving them food for thought. In her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she draws on personal experience to illustrate that hope is always an action away. She lives in Colorado with her husband, her teenage daughter, and their pets.

Jo 'S

LIFE QUOTE

“Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.”

— Leroy “Satchel” Paige, legendary African-American baseball player

Jo is on pages 71-74

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