Meet the
Mighty Mila Team
The Author...
Hi, my name is Katie Petruzziello. I’m a CPA turned project manager who spends my days juggling my career and trying to keep up with my 3 wonderful (and very feisty!) children. Most of my nights are devoted to writing and furthering my mission of providing representation and awareness for children with hearing loss, like my strong spunky daughter Mila.
I live in New York and love going on fun adventures with my family, laughing with my husband at our kids’ silly antics and baking or doing crafts with my children.
The Illustrator...
...and the Spunky Little Girl who inspired it all
Nadja Sarell is a freelance illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. She loves illustrating children's books, creating patterns and drawing characters, especially children (and purple cats). In her free time Nadja enjoys dancing, music, good coffee and spotting airplanes with her son.
Mila is a strong, sassy little spitfire with an infectious laugh, hilariously entertaining personality and wild fashion sense. At 15 months old, Mila was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss. She quickly became a pro at using her hearing aids, and started entertaining her therapists with her silliness during therapy sessions.
When Mila was three years old, her hearing started rapidly dropping and quickly progressed to a level of profound deafness. Her hearing aids were no longer able to provide her with enough access to sound, and she received cochlear implants, which are small surgically implanted electronic devices that help to provide her with a sense of sound.
She was so strong and we were all amazed at how quickly she started understanding sound using her cochlear implants. She's doing incredibly well and continues to amaze us daily with her fierce determination and unstoppable attitude.