FELIX MANUEL RODRIGUEZ was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was the sixth child in a family of seven. His mother migrated to Connecticut in 1967 from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico. In 1980, his father abandoned the family; leaving his mother who barely spoke English to raise seven children by herself. Felix attended Walsh Elementary School and was an avid drawer, often borrowing (without permission) his brother's crayons, markers, and pencils in order to escape into his own imaginary world. In 1994, just barely out of his teens, he became a young father. After being scarred by living in a father-absent home, street life, and struggles of being a young father, he decided to pursue higher education ten years after graduating high school. He attended Briarwood College in Southington, Connecticut and graduated in 2005 with an AS in Business Management and becoming the first in the family to earn a college degree. A year after graduating Briarwood College, he was employed at the CT Department of Children and Families (DCF) as an executive assistant to the Chief of Staff. Now, he currently serves as the assistant to the Deputy Commissioner, where he assists in the leadership of various agency initiatives. He serves as Chairman for the Quinceañera Selection Committee, a Latina rite of passage program; he serves on the Escuchenos Latino Youth Conference Committee, an educational/cultural conference for Latino youth in DCF care; Promotion Chair for the Annual 5K Run/Walk Community Awareness Day to help prevent and raise awareness of child abuse and neglect, and much more. Felix is also active in the Latino community, serving as Vice President of the Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury Inc., and serves as a Police Commissioner for the City of Waterbury. He is also a professional boxing inspector for the state boxing commission. Felix is a contributing writer to Essential Connections and Common Ground, the Newspaper of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors. He is an associate member of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators. Felix is the author of Dad, Me, and Muhammad Ali: A Father and Son Story. He is a writer who seeks to inspire children everywhere to dream big and learn more. Felix currently lives in Connecticut with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, Felix Joeza, and Jalissa.