Dr. Neal G. Lineback
In his distinguished career, Dr. Neal Lineback has made innumerable contributions to geography education. In addition to the long-standing success of Geography In The News™, he has taught at both high school and university levels, while authoring or co-authoring three books, four atlases, more than 100 land use and mineral rights maps, along with numerous professional papers in publications ranging from Professional Geographer to World Book Encyclopedia.

Currently a Professor Emeritus of Geography at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, Dr. Lineback has been chair of the Geography Department at both Appalachian and the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa. He has also been very active in a number of professional societies, including the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and the National Council of Geography Education. For AAG, Dr. Lineback has chaired committees, served as President of the Southeastern Division, and was the founder and guiding force behind the World Geography Bowl, a national college-level student geography competition. For these and other activities, he has been honored with several regional and national awards for Geography In The News™, including the AAG's Distinguished Service Honors award and Travelocity's Award for Excellence in Geography Education.

Mandy Lineback Gritzner, M.S.
Mandy Lineback Gritzner, daughter of Geography In The News™ founder Neal Lineback, now serves as co-author of Geography In The News™ articles. She began collaborating in the research and writing of the articles in the summer 2006. She was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and received her college degree in geography at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and her graduate degree in Earth Science from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. She has worked at the University of New Mexico and the University of Montana, as well as with two private firms as a Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist. She and her husband, Jason, spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers in Bolivia, before returning to the U.S. to write a secondary school book together on Bolivia. She and Jason have two daughters and live in Idaho.