Wendy Newell Dyer is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Nation, the daughter of Wayne A Newell, a tribal and cultural leader and co-founder of Cobscook Institute. She has worked as a freelance writer/photographer; written for the Maine Coalition to Fight Prostate Cancer and appeared in one of their educational videos; worked for three newspapers; had her stories featured in publications that include Dawnland Voices, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Homeschooling Today; and testified about her adoption before the Maine Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Wendy was a teacher at the Wayfinder Schools and is presently taking a year off to travel and focus on writing. She is a winner of the 2022 MWPA Call for Native Writers, a 2022 Ashley Bryan Fellow, and was a consultant for the Maine Humanity Council’s 2025 Reader’s Retreat. She has three sons, four grandsons, and a black lab named Jack. Reflecting on being a member of the Cobscook Institute Board, she shares, “I am proud to be a part of an organization that my father helped create. It’s been a wonderful experience to work with such a fine group of people.”