Biography
Barbara Anne Wanchisen has been a railroad ticket agent, a tenured professor of psychology, a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, and a board director at a prestigious non-profit science organization. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the second of two children raised by parents of Eastern European descent, she was taught the value of a strong work ethic, common sense, and the pursuit of education.
Barb developed an interest in reading and writing at an early age, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy, and a Master of Arts in English, focused on studying classic literature. She then took a sharp turn in another direction, conducting basic research in the behavioral sciences, and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology. After many years of writing scholarly papers and grant/contract proposals, Barb felt drawn back to writing in her own voice.
She has published essays on a variety of topics and is actively pursuing other writing projects with gusto. She has also drafted a memoir of a time when she struggled to make room in her life for the caretaking of others and is actively engaged in the final editing of that book.
Barb lives in Washington, DC without cats, plants or other dependents. She is an avid traveler, fascinated and inspired by people wherever she goes, yet remains a fervent east-coast aficionado.