Katy Schneider teaches drawing and painting at Smith College. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and of awards from the National Academy of Design and the Academy of Arts and Letters. Among various awards for picture book illustration, she received the Bank Street College of Education's Book Award. Schneider grew up in New York City in a family of nine. Her work focuses on themes related to her upbringing: making the most of a small space, organizing chaos and uncovering family dynamics.

She has always been interested in the power of light to tell a story. Schneider exhibits nationally. Her work is in numerous collections, including The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the New Britain Museum and the Smith College Museum of Art.