Joanne Kilgour Dowdy is a professor of adolescent/adult literacy at Kent State University in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies. A graduate of the Juilliard School in the theater division, Dr. Dowdy continues to use her drama training to prepare teachers for the literacy classroom and as a performer who facilitates writing development through interactive workshops. Her major research interests include documenting the experiences of black women involved in education from adult basic literacy to higher education. She has written or edited twelve books. Her first book, co-edited with Lisa Delpit, was The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom (The New Press). Her book Ph.D. Stories: Conversations with My Sisters was awarded the 2009 American Educational Research Association Narrative and Research Special Interest Group’s Outstanding Book Award. She lives in Ohio.