Kathleen Melin is the author of By Heart, a memoir of progressive education (Clover Valley Press 2008).  Her creative and journalistic work has appeared in national and international publications including The Baltimore Review; EssayDaily; Feminist Parenting; A Woman’s Place; Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities; Eric Utne’s Cosmo DooGoods Urban Almanac; and others. She holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota and has worked in education as a teacher, presenter, and passionate advocate for people whose choices have been limited by class, gender, and geography.  She has taught at the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Summit School for the Arts, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical Institute, conferences, festivals, libraries, galleries, and farms.