When her dyslexic son was first learning to read, Melinda Thompson had trouble finding books that were easy enough for him to master. Instead of learning to read, her son was learning to hate reading. This inspired her to write books and design games to tip the balance in favor of emergent readers (especially struggling ones). She shared her work with reading specialists, teachers, parents and children, continuously tailoring Budding Reader books and games to best meet their needs. Buoyed by their positive response to her products and armed with a background in advertising and a passion and vision for her brand, Melinda is bringing Budding Reader books and games to market. Formerly, a V.P., Account Supervisor at Young and Rubicam on Madison Avenue, Melinda has a master’s degree in advertising from Northwestern University. She currently lives in North Carolina with her loving husband, two great kids and her faithful dog, Stanley.
Melinda’s identical twin sister, Melissa Ferrell, is a former Development Associate with Walt Disney Television where she assisted in the development of situation comedies for NBC, ABC and Fox and co-wrote and sold a couple of television episodes. In addition to her experience in Hollywood, she’s taught English as a Second Language as a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania and resettled Kosovar/Albanian refugees in the United States with the International Rescue Committee. Melissa earned an MFA in Radio/Television/Film and an MA in Sociology from Northwestern University and currently lives with her husband in Phoenix, Arizona.
As an artist at Raleigh's CBS affiliate, WRAL-TV, Doug Oglesby earned one Emmy, five Emmy nominations and three international awards from the Broadcast Designers Association for his art and graphic design work. A founding member of Tom Clancy’s multimedia company, Red Storm Entertainment, Doug is currently a concept artist there. He has worked on more than thirteen game titles in both creative and managerial capacities. Doug holds a degree in graphics and illustration from East Carolina University and lives happily in North Carolina with his wonderful wife and three sons.
Cecilia Minden-Cupp, Ph.D. is the former Director of Language and Literacy Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Cecilia earned her doctorate in Reading Education from the University of Virginia and has research, classroom and administrative credentials. She is the author of over 100 children’s books including: Herbster Readers and Everyday Math Series. Cecilia, along with her colleague, Dr. Jill Allor, are the authors of Bookshop Phonics, a phonics curriculum and intervention for grades K-2. Cecilia lives with her family in Durham, NC.
