Ann Speltz, Ph.D.
Founder of Kid Support

Ann Speltz is a breast cancer survivor and a parent. Learning from her own experiences in fighting the disease and communicating with her daughter throughout her treatment process, Ann founded Kid Support in 1999 and currently serves as the organization's president. Kid Support is a nonprofit organization that establishes adult-led peer support groups for the children of cancer patients.

Ann is the author of The Year My Mother Was Bald, recently published by Magination Press, an imprint of the American Psychological Association. The illustrated children's book is fiction in the form of the personal journal and scrapbook of a young girl named Clare. Clare tells her story, shares her feelings and describes her family's experiences with cancer treatment. The book helps children ages eight to 13 understand the science of cancer and its treatments, and promotes feelings of comfort and normalcy during a challenging time.

Ann uses The Year My Mother Was Bald with children as part of the 12-session Kid Support program and Kid Support Training Course she currently runs for program facilitators. In addition to her Kid Support activities, Ann also teaches in Northwestern University's Saturday Enrichment Program and Summer Program for academically talented children.

Ann attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and received her Ph.D. in English literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. An educator for the past 30 years, she has taught writing, research, film, and humanities courses at Roosevelt University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and has been an editor and developer of humanities curricula for elementary and secondary schools.

Formerly Senior Editor of the Great Books Foundation, Ann co-created and co-authored the Junior Great Books reading, writing and discussion curriculum, recognized as an exemplary program by the U.S. Department of Education's National Diffusion Network.

Ann grew up with her seven brothers and sisters in Minnesota, in a small town on the Mississippi River. She currently lives with her husband Stephen Fedo and their daughter Amelia in Evanston, Illinois.