Melissa Geiss
Melissa Geiss graduated summa cum laude from Cedarville University in 1990 and went on to teach English and Spanish for 9 years in Indiana. There she created and implemented a successful Creative Writing curriculum for 11th and 12th grade students, which she also adapted for use at the Adult Education Center at Miami University. During the 1997-1998 school year, Melissa took part in a community internship for teachers and was placed at a local newspaper. After shadowing a beat reporter for a few weeks, Melissa wrote her first story, which was subsequently published on the first page above the fold. That’s how Melissa caught the “byline bug” and life hasn’t been the same since.
For the past five years, Melissa has worked as a freelance writer while staying at home with her two sons. She has been published in numerous newspapers and regional and national magazines, including Teacher, National Geographic Traveler, and Over the Back Fence. Her most recent project includes editing a children’s book set to go to print this fall.
Angela Gergely
It's a rare individual who is both a bookworm and a people person, but Angela Gergely would admit to being this strange combination. On a deserted island she would take a bag of books, a journal, and a pen. Her childhood ambition was to be a librarian though her classmates considered it an "uncool" career path. Though her private time is spent reading/writing, she is energized by working with students.
Angela has experience in public speaking, serving on a research and writing team, as well as doing freelance writing in her spare time.
Angela also enjoys singing and playing drums, cooking, ancient history, geography, and 70's & 80's music. She loves riding on the back of her husband's motorcycle and driving through the country-side. While he's watching the road, she's watching out for beautiful landscaping and singing in her helmet.
Lynne Gordon
Lynne Gordon has shared a job with her husband Drew for the last 18 years. Together they hold one full-time position as directors of publications for Crown & Covenant Publication. Lynne met Drew at Geneva College working on the student newspaper, where she was eventually elected editor-in-chief. Before Crown & Covenant, Lynne worked as a communication specialist for a Fortune 500 management consulting firm. She has a B.A. in English and minors in writing and journalism.
Lynne enjoys art history and design, and likes to watch her kids play sports. She plays "Weird Al" Yankovic songs--among other things--on her Alvarez/Yairi acoustic-electric guitar. Her household lacks a feline for the first time in 19 years but she gets her exercise trying to keep up with her Gordon Setter named Maisie.
Danielle Grandinetti
Danielle has always enjoyed writing. In college she studied writing and graduated with a bachelor degree in Communications. Since then, she has furthered her writing skills with an emphasis in fiction. Her short stories have appeared in The Storyteller (“The Contest”) and Parables Magazine (“Beyond the Mountainside”). She lives in the Chicago area where she gives private piano lessons and teaches writing to local homeschool students, grades 6 and up.
Lisa Haydt
Coming from a family of educators, Lisa Haydt always knew that this was her true calling in life. She began teaching after graduating with a Liberal Studies degree in 1988 from Chapman University and continued her education by completing her M.A. degree in Education in 1995. Although she has taught a variety of subjects, English and Composition have always been her personal favorites.
Throughout her teaching experience, Lisa served as both a mentor and master teacher, working with twelve student teachers at all levels. Lisa was also the technology coordinator at her school site for many years, where she was able to pass on both her love of writing and technology to her fellow colleagues. In 1995 Lisa was honored by being named the Teacher of the Year for her school district.
Lisa enjoys being a leader, working as her grade level chair representative for six years, the school Girl Scout leader for three years and was in charge of the District Program Quality Review team for five years. Additionally, she has worked as a University Field Supervisor with Pepperdine University, observing and training new teachers. She currently is teaching Masters level courses in Education online with National University to students receiving their teaching credential at the secondary level. It is her passion to pass on the love of learning to those around her.
Lisa is married with two children, a son who is eight and a daughter who is six. She recently made a dramatic move from California to Texas, and is enjoying her new life as a “Southern Girl”. Her other true love in life is running, where she competes in distance challenges throughout the Austin area.
Maurene Hinds
Maurene Hinds is a children's author with several published books geared toward teens. Additionally, she writes educational materials for students, teachers, and parents. Her educational work includes books, lesson plans, learning activities, and leveled readers for students of all ages. She is an experienced teacher who has taught creative and compositional writing and literature at the high school and college levels. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Teenagers from Vermont College.
Bruce Hoard
Bruce has been a professional writer and editor for nearly 30 years. He has worked primarily in the Information Technology industry for trade publications and computer companies, and has also written for several golf magazines. As an editor working with many freelance writers he learned to diplomatically suggest changes and skillfully edit copy. He has enjoyed the change with Accelawriter, where he helps school-age kids grow in their ability and excitement to write.
Whitney Hopler
Whitney has enjoyed writing ever since childhood, when she celebrated the first publication of her work at age 10 -- two poems published in the children's newpaper The Mini Page. As an editor, she has served on staff at The Salvation Army’s national magazines, the popular Christian website Crosswalk.com, and both daily and weekly newspapers. As a writer, she has more than 15 years of experience in journalism. She began as a newspaper reporter, and gradually devoted more time to writing for magazines and the Internet. The author of three nonfiction books and three novels, Whitney currently serves Crosswalk.com as a contributing writer, while also contributing articles to national magazines (such as Angels on Earth) and books (such as the nationwide bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas Treasury for Kids).
Bristol Ivy
At one point in her youth, someone asked Bristol Ivy to describe herself in a single word. It didn't take long for her to answer: "writer." And the same has been true ever since. She has spent the rest of her life cultivating that skill, working with such varied institutions as Northwestern University's Gifted and Talented Program, the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Simon's Rock College of Bard's Young Writers' Workshop, and many others. She received her B.A. from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and while she now spends her days on the Southern coast of Maine, she sometimes longs for the cornfields. In her spare time, when she's not daydreaming about the plots of stories or little wisps of poetry, Bristol works as a teacher, production weaver, and dyer at the local fiber arts gallery, goes for long walks on the beach with her hyperactive dog, and dreams about owning sheep. She will be spending the winter traveling and working on organic farms in New Zealand.
Darlene Ivy
Darlene earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors in communication disorders and early childhood education from the University of New Hampshire, and a master’s in education and a law degree from Oklahoma City University. She has taught in many settings including a traditional elementary classroom, a school for the severely handicapped, an enrichment program for the academically gifted, the local community college and several community-based programs. She also staffed and drafted legislation for the Education Committee of the Oklahoma State Senate.
She has created classroom study guides for a children’s theater company and written textbooks and workbooks for an educational publisher. Now, in addition to coaching for Accelawriter, she is also writing several books, exploring weaving and basket making with native materials, and trying to figure out how to start swimming again. In her spare moments, Darlene enjoys spending time with her husband, their adult children, and a house full of pets, including a new young dog named Delightful Delilah.