A New Jersey native, Melinda Atwood was a professional dancer and award winning choreographer as well as a producer and director of musical theater before turning her hand to writing. A graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Ms. Atwood has served on the boards of directors of the Self Family Arts Center, the Juggernaut Theater Company, and the Elizabeth Foundation. Mother of a now-grown son, Atwood is married (to one of those boring bankers), living in New York City, and working in Off-Broadway theater. Melinda Atwood has traveled the world but her six -year sojourn in Africa provided the inspiration for Jambo, Mama.

Melinda is currently working in New York City on the DanceBreak Foundation which is a showcase for the next generation of great Broadway Choreographers.