Clarence Nero will share his wisdom from his lived experience and his contributions to youth with innovative writing projects. He is an Associate Professor at Baton Rouge Community College, author, and screenwriter whose accomplishments include his critically acclaimed novel, Cheekie: A Child Out of Desire, nominated for 'Best Books for Young Adults' by the American Library Association and selected as 'One of the Best First Novels' by Library Journal which he adapted into a screenplay and is currently in pre-production. He served as a literary consultant to help his students self-publish a book called "Voices from the Bayou" that he adapted to the stage with the LSU Theater Department, and he then wrote the screenplay that led to the making of the short film "Voices." He is the writer, producer and director of the stage play, "Trauma on this Land." In 2011, after his brother was murdered in New Orleans, he launched the Bayou Soul Youth Literary Conference to empower and inspire Louisiana high school students