Dictionary Project Team

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Mary French, Director, Mount Pleasant, SC

Mary has a bachelor's degree in English with a political science minor from Charleston Southern University. She has been the Director of the Dictionary Project since 1995. She has written and published "The Dictionary of Wisdom", "The Best Dictionary for Students", "A Student's Dictionary", "A Student's Dictionary, Canadian Edition", "A Student's Dictionary & Gazetteer, Canadian Edition", and with the help of Karan and Siddarth Rai, "A Student's Dictionary & Animal Gazetteer". Mary enjoys reading, walking, and traveling. Her favorite thing about her job is listening to people talk about their experiences implementing the Dictionary Project.

Elizabeth Huey, Office Manager, Mount Pleasant, SC

Elizabeth graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor of science degree in accounting. She worked in public accounting as a CPA for 23 years. She is the Office Manager for the Dictionary Project. She enjoys reading, travel, gardening, and boating. "I really enjoy getting to talk with sponsors across the U.S., and I love visiting classrooms to distribute dictionaries to students."       

Jennifer Klee, Outreach Coordinator, Lighthouse Point, FL

Jennifer has a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Florida and a master's degree in English from the College of Charleston. She first worked for the Dictionary Project while she was a graduate student. After returning to Florida, she worked for the American Cancer Society, doing special event fundraising, and Public Television, writing grants. Jennifer loves reading, writing, cooking, yoga, fashion, and gardening. She is very happy to be back with the Dictionary Project. "The Dictionary Project is mission-driven, makes every dollar count, and it's wonderful to be able to work from home while caring for my daughters, Ellie and Sarah Kate. My hopes for the Dictionary Project are that we reach our goal of giving every third grader a dictionary, and that the Dictionary Project inspires children to do something nice for someone else in their community. Small things can make a big difference."

Shirley Anderson, Outreach Coordinator, Grand Rapids, MI

Shirley has an associate's degree from Davenport College of Business. She worked for eight years in children's publishing for McGraw-Hill and School Specialty Publishing. While with School Specialty, she was the Key Account Representative for the Dictionary Project. Since joining the Dictionary Project in March of 2010, she has been involved in direct distribution of dictionaries to students at over 50 schools, and also assists sponsors over the phone and by e-mail. The best thing about her job? "Two things: Speaking with the sponsors and hearing all their wonderful stories, from flying the dictionaries from Alaska into Russia, and feeling the warmth that they have received and have given to their third graders in their school systems. I also personally enjoy going into schools and doing distribution of the dictionaries, and watching the amazement and the joy that I see in each child's eyes."       

Caroline Brost, Outreach Coordinator, Rochester, MN

Caroline has a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Davidson College and a master's degree in special education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is also a certified Montessori teacher. She has worked in public school and in private Montessori schools. She is a member of the religious education team at her church, belongs to a wonderful book club, and is the owner of a 1934 Webster Unabridged Dictionary (a gift from her husband when they were dating). At the Dictionary Project, Caroline processes book orders, corresponds with sponsors, maintains school sponsorship lists, and writes for the website. "I love reading the notes from our sponsors and seeing photos of them with the children. It makes me happy every day to see how many people there are who work so hard to make the world a better place."

Sarah Hilgendorf, Public Relations Coordinator, Colorado Springs, CO

Sarah has a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For the past several years she has been working as a freelance writer and editor. She has written two books for the Dictionary Project--the U. S. and Canadian editions of one of our thesauruses. As PR Coordinator, she works on strengthening our relationships with sponsors and raising awareness about the Dictionary Project's mission.  She loves reading, writing, knitting, and hiking in the Rockies with her family. Her favorite thing about her job? "Getting to know all of the people who make the Dictionary Project possible! We are blessed to have amazing, generous sponsors who are as passionate as we are when it comes to promoting literacy."