Christina Ryder graduated with a Master of Arts in Social Science with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis from the University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Vanguard University of Southern California. Christina has been a grant writer for over 10 years and, as a fundamental area of expertise, has been successful in securing millions of dollars in foundational, corporate and federal requests for multiple non-profit organizations, coalitions, and grass-root projects world wide.  She has served in various capacities within non-profit organizations including in direct service, administrative, training, conference, and academic research review capacities. An activist at heart, Christina has dedicated most of her personal research and volunteer efforts to addressing the needs faced by at-risk youth, those affected by poverty, and women and children victims of violence. In addition to her role at The Grantwell, LLC, Christina is per course faculty at Missouri State University, Drury University, and Vanguard University of Southern California in each of these instutions Sociology Department. In November 2011, she was appointed to the Springfield, Missouri Mayor's Commission on Human Rights and is an active member of the local Continuum of Care Homeless Task Force.

Andrea M. Meek originates from Louisiana, where she graduated with a B. A. in Theatre from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. After spending three years acting in various theatre and film projects in New Orleans and working as a guide on a Creole plantation, studying New Orleans and Creole history, she moved to New York and obtained a Certificate in Journalism at New York University. She currently lives in Manhattan, where she works as a freelance writer and an actor.

Gail O'Connor, originally from Collinsville, Illinois, has recently graduated with a B.S. degree in Sociology, with a minor in Creative Writing from Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri. She served as a sociology research assistant under Christina Ryder and Dr. Tim Knapp in June of 2011, during which she studied several social problems found within  the Springfield community. Gail continued this research into her last semester in undergraduate study, thus ending in December of 2011. In her free time, she is the Color Guard instructor at Central High School, also located in Springfield, and has been a member of the nationally ranked Pride of Missouri State Winterguard and Color Guard programs for five years. Gail has been happily working for The Grantwell as a grant writer since August of 2011.