Keven Baxter
Keven Baxter grew up in rural Northern California. The youngest of five children, he spent his childhood in the outdoors, hiking in the wooded chaparral mountains and apricot orchards that provided a stunning landscape to explore. More comfortable outside than in the classroom, Baxter was a young reader who, in his words, “languished at the bottom of the SRA reading color staircase.” His sixth-grade teacher, however, introduced him to the White Mountains trilogy and unlocked the treasure of reading. His childhood exploring nature, and his transformation into an ardent reader continue to inspire him to create stories of wonder for young readers.
Baxter studied economics at UC- Santa Barbara, but his most valuable college treasure was meeting his wife, Claire. He went on to earn a law degree and MBA from UC-Berkeley. He spent thirty years working as a lawyer and business executive. He started in big law, worked in-house with several tech companies, and finally established his own law firm. During this time, he and Claire were blessed with two wonderful daughters to whom he spent most nights reading at bedtime, producing memories he cherishes and hopes to impart to every parent.
Wanting to introduce his daughters to the joy of helping others, Baxter founded Sports Gift, a small non-profit for impoverished children around the world. Sports Gift distributed over 300,000 items of sports equipment to communities in 60 countries, benefiting an estimated 500,000 children. Baxter’s countless hours working with youth volunteers gave him valuable perspective on what young people face in today’s culture.
In 2019, Baxter developed a desire to move more deeply into non-profit work. He earned a master’s in theology from Southern Seminary, and then joined an international relief organization serving oppressed Christian communities around the world. He uses this experience to add richness and depth to his stories.
Baxter followed his heart and left the non-profit at the end of 2022 to begin work on his first novel, Kingdom in the Redwoods. As part of this focus, Baxter founded Brilliant Light Media with the vision of promoting books and other creative works to shine a light on God’s goodness, beauty, and truth.
Baxter lives in Southern California with his wife Claire and enjoys time outdoors with his daughters and grandsons.
Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.
C.S. Lewis