Rochelle holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, where she also obtained a minor in Chinese Language and Literature in the East Asian Studies Department.  She also holds a Master’s of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communications fromEmerson College  She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, with proficiency in Japanese and Spanish and has traveled to over eleven countries.

Faith Barcus at Showa Women’s Institute in Boston gave Rochelle the opportunity to teach over 1,000 Japanese students about African American lifestyles and norms. Rochelle had originally contacted Showa in 1988 to be a host family, and it turned into a two year commitment from 1990 to 1992 as a Dorm Mother.  Then in 2002, a friend BaiFeng Sun arranged for Rochelle to teach another 200 students in China’s Shaung Ya San City in Hei Long Jiang (Black Dragon River) Province.

Rochelle just couldn't deprive children around the world of the opportunity to learn through reading her stories that there are truly more positive things that bind humanities heart than there are to keep us apart.  Learning to cross cultural barriers, however tough is truly worth the sacrifice.  The love of learning, teaching, cooking, sharing a meal or teaching someone how to write calligraphy, fold a paper crane, or sew a doll illustrates the creative ways we all express ourselves and can share with one another.