Melanie Zoe Cavanaugh is a self-published children's picture book author. With a degree in marine science, her mission is to educate children about current marine environmental issues and awareness. She is the cofounder, along with her illustrator Libby Heineken, of Green Anemone Press LLC. Her first book, The Blue Balloon, is a conservation tale about a nesting leatherback sea turtle and the potential harm balloons have on the ocean environment.