Julie Whipple is a writer and educator living in Portland, Oregon. She holds an MFA in creative writing with an emphasis on nonfiction, and has worked as a journalist in Kenya and Tanzania where she was the East Africa correspondent for the London-based, weekly news magazine Africa Economic Digest. She also filed stories for the London Observer, South Magazine, Radio France International and Deutsche Welle among others. Her work has also been published in the Christian Science Monitor, The Oregonian, the Portland Business Journal, and Portland Monthly Magazine. Her first book, Crash Course tells the true story of a landmark air disaster and a little girl's battle for justice and aviation safety.