Alison Chandler discovered the web while stuffed into a crowded dormroom at the University of Maryland, College Park. She does not miss the days of blue cinder-block walls, nor the soft sound of a metal bed frame mook-mooking her out of her sleep. She does, however, appreciate having had the lightning speed of the university’s network, without which she could not have tolerated writing her first few lines of HTML.

She also credits her friends for her the ability to hack together a website, understand technology, and make money doing it. Without their passions and their willingness to answer her relentless questions, she might today be found behind the register at your local supermart.

Ms. Chandler grew up in southern New Hampshire, tossed the word “wicked” out of her vocabulary to avoid ridicule, got stuck in Maryland, and has now picked up the equally ridiculous habit of pronouncing the word “on” as “awn.” She currently resides in Northern Virginia, which thinks it is too cool for her, and where the housing prices keep skyrocketing.

To amuse herself she chases a soccer ball around a field each week, reads, and learns languages. She is a true dork at heart.