Who We Are

There’s a real person behind Tardigrade Media—me!

I’m Felicia Lee, and I’m a storyteller—always have been, and always will be.

And I’ve always known it—as a kid, I was terrible at sports (still am) and awkward at parties—but when I read my stories in class, even the cool kids took notice. And I realized this is what I wanted to do the rest of my life.

With this knowledge, I earned a bachelor’s degree (with honors) and master’s degree in English from Stanford, where I served as a writer or editor for several student publications.

My professional writing experience started with a brief stint as a technical editor at Xerox, then a rewarding two-year stint at Rockwell International, the lead contractor on the Space Shuttle program at the time—there, I was part of the team providing copywriting and technical writing services for the Shuttle program. It was a great place for a young writer to learn the craft of commercial copywriting, and I’m grateful for the mentoring I received there.

My work at Rockwell and its international crew of researchers and engineers made me increasingly curious about the mechanics of language, so I enrolled in the doctoral program in linguistics at UCLA, where I wrote my dissertation on a previously undocumented indigenous language of Mexico. After earning my Ph.D, I taught college linguistics for ten years at schools including the University of Southern California, the University of British Columbia, and finally, the University of Florida. Always drawn to the road less traveled, I’ve also held positions as a pastry cook at a five-start hotel and a product-test coordinator for a (now-defunct) video game company.

I decided to return to my professional roots as a writer because of the stories I’ve heard over the years. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with everyone from farmers with second-grade educations to small business owners to literal rocket scientists, and I realized they’re not that different: They all have stories to tell and a yearning to be heard. And there’s nothing more rewarding for me than seeing their happiness when they see someone has not only heard and understood them, but helped them document and amplify their vision.

So this is my story. What’s yours?