Gretchen Espinetti

I was born and raised on the New England seacoast, to parents of Swedish and French roots. My love and appreciation for the beauty, force and depth of the mighty sea has long been an inspiration for me - my favorite poem of all time is "I Must Go Down to the Sea Again" by John Masefield.

I've enjoyed an extensive career in bilingual education and early childhood education which has taken me to educational settings from P-16 in the USA as well as three countries in Asia. Like Linda, I love languages and am passionate about literacy. My doctoral studies were grounded in multi-cultural education with a focus on the Third Culture Kid (TCK) phenomenon - children who have spent a significant part of their developmental years outside the culture of their parents.

For the past six years, my work in Florida has been in the health and fitness industry for seniors over 60. Over the span of thirty-plus years, I've investigated questions about the brain, multilingualism, language and learning in general. And, in my research, I discovered that neuroscience has revealed that being fluent in more than one language protects us against age-related cognitive declines.

And,like Linda, I've taken time away from career for reflection and writing. I count this work with her to be a book that can revolutionize the quality of life for elders around the world.