Colleen Thrailkill holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Emory University, a master’s in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University, and a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Central Florida. She is retired from over three decades of teaching elementary school in Orange County, Florida, and local Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. During the pandemic she was inspired to write and publish a memoir/ teaching handbook (The Value of Rotting Pumpkins: The Art of Teaching Elementary School) after taking Jean Berg’s DavidsonLearns memoir writing class. She also participates in a local writing club.