Wendy Coakley-Thompson was born to West Indian parents in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised in idyllic Nassau, Bahamas. In 1984, Coakley-Thompson returned stateside to attend Montclair State College (now University), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Theater (Broadcasting). Later, Coakley-Thompson received a Masters degree in Communication Arts from William Paterson College, also now a university.

 

Living in New Jersey, she contributed articles to The East Coast Rocker, Private Eye, and Downtown magazines in New Jersey. She also wrote articles for Elan and In Print, fashion and lifestyle magazines in Nassau, Bahamas. She has interviewed luminaries from Betsey Johnson to singer Johnny Kemp, a Bahamian who achieved international stardom with his hit song "Just Got Paid."

 

In 1999, Coakley-Thompson earned a Ph.D. in Education from Syracuse
University's Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation (IDDE)
department. Her dissertation is entitled The Use of Popular Media in Multicultural Education: Stressing Implications for the Black/Non-Black Biracial North American Student. Having a biracial grandmother and coming from such a racially diverse West Indian family and culture has driven Coakley-Thompson to explore race relations, interracial marriage, and colorism in her scholarly and mainstream fiction writings. She also discusses the sometimes painful dichotomy of being a patriotic first generation American who also experiences the simultaneous inextricable pull of the old country.

 

Coakley-Thompson lives in Northern Virginia. Her work as a commentator for Metro Connection on WAMU, a Washington D.C. National Public Radio affiliate, earned a 2003 Associated Press/Chesapeake Award in the Editorial category. She has also been an adjunct professor at The University of Georgia, Strayer University, and Marymount University in Northern Virginia. Back to Life is her first novel.

 

Wendy is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.