About Us

Get to Know Us

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site with a 20+ year focus on expert-created education content. We are proud to be one of the top-10 information sites, as measured by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. In 2018, ThoughtCo received a Communicator Award in the General Education category and a Davey Award in the Education category.

At ThoughtCo, we believe that great inspiration begins with a question, and we help 13 million users answer theirs every month. Whether yours is about science and math, humanities and religion, or architecture and the arts, our in-depth articles, written by literature writers, Ph.D.s, and experienced instructors, are designed to give you the answers and information you need in a clear, easy-to-navigate format. So whether you are asking for a class, that next conversation, or just because you want to know, ThoughtCo can help.

Let your curiosity lead the way. ThoughtCo, Lifelong Learning.

Our Writers

Our hundreds of writers have produced over 40,000 articles and have advanced degrees in their subject areas. Many of our literature writers, for example, have degrees in English or Classic Literature. Our language writers are not just native speakers of the language they write about — they’re also experienced instructors of that language. Meet some of our writers:

Allen Grove, Ph.D.

Allen Grove, Ph.D., is a professor of English with 25 years of experience, and a college admissions expert who has been helping students with the college admissions process for over a decade. He has been writing for ThoughtCo and About.com Education since 2008.

For five years, Dr. Grove directed Alfred University's First-Year Experience Program to help students make the challenging transition from high school to college. He is the Chair of the English Department, regularly teaching first-year experience courses, first-year composition, and British Literature. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and has edited several British novels.

Dr. Grove earned a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from M.I.T. and, with some course work at Harvard and Wellesley, a B.S. in Literature from M.I.T. He then earned his master's and Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., has extensive experience as a science writer. She has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About.com Education since 2001 and has taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate level. She has worked abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

Dr. Helmenstine has bachelor of arts degrees in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College in Nebraska and a doctorate of philosophy in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

Jocelly Meiners, Ph.D.

Jocelly Meiners, Ph.D., is a language educator who has taught Spanish and French at the college level since 2008. She has been writing for ThoughtCo since 2018.

Dr. Meiners is a lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches introductory, intermediate, and accelerated Spanish language and writing courses. She currently specializes in courses for Heritage Spanish learners and co-directs the Texas Consortium for Heritage Spanish. Dr. Meiners has also served as a reader for the Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture exam.

Dr. Meiners earned a Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics and M.A. in French Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Robert Longley

Robert Longley has covered U.S. government, citizenship and American history for ThoughtCo and About.com Education since 1997.

Robert is a retired urban planning professional with nearly 30 years of experience in the areas of land use planning, zoning code development and administration, and geographic information systems. He has worked as a liaison with federal agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

As liaison for two cities, Robert worked directly with the U.S. Census Bureau on completion of the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Decennial U.S. Censuses. In addition, he has worked as an election official in several local, state, and federal elections.

Editorial Principles

Every piece of content on ThoughtCo is conceived and created with these core principles in mind:

Education never ends: Knowledge enriches all of our lives. Whether you are a student preparing for an exam, a teacher designing a lesson plan, a parent helping a child, or simply a curious reader looking to learn something new, we are committed to creating content that informs, educates, and fascinates you.

Our readers come first: We publish content that is clear and jargon-free, making even the most complex concepts understandable for all readers. Every aspect of our site is designed to support this goal, from the illustrations we publish to the organization of our articles. 

Objective and reliable: Our content is rigorously researched and written by writers who are experts in their fields. Articles are accompanied by source lists to support the writer’s claims and enable readers to continue exploring the topic. 

ThoughtCo content is for informational purposes and is guided by and upholds the Society for Professional Journalists’ foundations of ethical journalism: being accurate and fair, minimizing harm, acting independently, and being accountable and transparent. We also uphold the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on disclosures, where applicable.

Editorial Guidelines

ThoughtCo's in-house editorial staff oversees every article on our site. ThoughtCo articles are meticulously fact-checked, and writers are required to support all statements and claims with reputable sources. Priority is given to academic journals and educational institutions. Source lists are provided at the bottom of our articles. 

ThoughtCo contributors do not give preferential treatment to any outside resource (company, publication, video, affiliate, website) based on their relationship with the person or company who authors or owns that resource—even if that person is himself or herself. In cases when an outside resource is objectively relevant to an article and useful to a reader, appropriate disclosures are made in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Links are added to content with the sole purpose of navigating you to relevant content throughout our site that may help further your knowledge about your topic of interest. We may link to outside web pages if they relate to a source used to create our content or we think they provide additional information that may be of assistance. These links are chosen carefully and point to academic journals, reputable organizations and institutions, news outlets, and other trustworthy entities.

Our product review articles are created, written, published, and managed by an independent product review team. We receive an affiliate commission on some, but not all, of the products that we recommend if you decide to click through to the retailer site and make a purchase. Point-of-purchase links are clearly labeled as such. If you have questions, comments, or opinions you’d like to share with our product review team, please email commercefeedback@dotdash.com.

ThoughtCo staff members who work on content creation do not work on the advertising team. All staffers are responsible for disclosing any potential conflicts of interest.

Quality Standards

Every article you see has several people behind it working to make sure that it is accurate, understandable, helpful, and reflective of our principles and editorial guidelines.

Our editors review and approve all article ideas independently. Each new article is rigorously reviewed and edited by our editorial team before it is published to our site. All visuals, tools, and videos are subject to the same approval process.

At ThoughtCo, we aspire to provide the highest quality content produced by humans, for humans. It is against our guidelines to publish automatically generated content using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools such as ChatGPT.

Update Methodology 

The editorial team also works to improve our library to ensure that it remains comprehensive and best in class. They evaluate existing content as a matter of routine to flag any articles that contain information that is known to be or is likely to be out of date. Among other factors, articles are assessed to ensure that a) they contain the latest and most accurate information and facts; b) statistics, if present, are up-to-date; c) they answer any new questions a reader may have as a result of changing times or expectations. If necessary, articles are re-edited. If an article has been modified, the date of the most recent update is provided at the top of the page.

Corrections

If you notice something in one of our articles that needs to be corrected, please send us an email at contact@thoughtco.com. We review all reader feedback and make updates to our content as needed.

Diversity & Inclusion

ThoughtCo strives to provide all readers with resources for lifelong learning. In June 2020, we made a pledge to diversify our contributor team, remediate our content for issues of representation and bias, and expand our library in topic areas where we can facilitate respectful conversations around race, including education, literature, history, and classroom resources. We are committed to being fully transparent about our work on these initiatives and will regularly update our pledge with information about our progress.

What Our Readers Say

“I am a speech-language pathologist who works with high school students in Newton, MA. I am always hunting for interesting articles to spark discussion in my language groups. I stumbled on your page through Google and could not resist emailing you to say thank you. So far, the most exciting compilation of thought-provoking articles, which are perfect for my students… Your site is truly a breath of fresh air.”
Elizabeth Kalmanov, Speech-Language Pathologist
M.A., Communication Science and Disorders

“I just discovered your site last year in my search to find resources for my AP Language and Composition students. I love the variety of articles. It has been a wonderful resource. Thank you for providing such a valuable resource to teachers and students!”
Sarah Kowalske
Communication Arts Teacher
AP Language & Composition

“I am an upper secondary school teacher of English and Swedish at The Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm, Sweden. Yesterday evening, I was browsing the web, looking for ideas and tips for my students who are writing essays about The Great Gatsby. And so I found your website! I simply must write and express my admiration and gratitude for your work."
Nadja Goliath
High School English and Swedish Teacher

“I am currently a high school social studies teacher in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. I use ThoughtCo articles all the time in my AP World History class because they are easier to read than the textbooks and my students more easily can grasp key points and ideas. I enjoy that they get to the point of an essential question."
Kristen Sinicariello
Social Studies and History Teacher

Meet Our Team

Headshot of Tim Fisher Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability

Tim Fisher is the SVP and General Manager of the Dotdash Meredith Tech & Sustainability Group and has been with Dotdash Meredith since 2006, working in various roles in the company. Before joining Dotdash Meredith, he was a systems engineer for Target Corporation; prior to that he sold, installed, and serviced networking equipment for a small telecommunications company. Fisher has been quoted or referenced in hundreds of major online and print publications, including The New York Times, Forbes, Scientific American, Vice, ZDNet, Computerworld, Fox News, Engadget, Digital Trends, Yahoo Finance, Gizmodo, and PCMag.

Read more

About Dotdash Meredith

ThoughtCo is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

Dotdash Meredith is the largest digital and print publisher in America. From mobile to magazines, nearly 200 million people trust us to help them make decisions, take action, and find inspiration. Dotdash Meredith's over 50 iconic brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Verywell, FOOD & WINE, The Spruce, Allrecipes, Byrdie, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, Southern Living and more.

Source: Comscore, March 2021 US

Senior Management Team

Learn more about the team behind Dotdash Meredith.

Contact Us

For press or other inquiries, reach us here: contact@thoughtco.com. Please note that we are not accepting new writers or guest posts at this time.

If you would rather call us or send us a letter, you can reach us at 225 Liberty Street 4th Floor,
New York, NY 10281 | 212-204-4000.

Work With Us

Join our crew of top-notch editors, designers, programmers and more as we continue to make ThoughtCo a leading source of learning information. View job openings.

Write for Us

We’re always looking for experienced writers who share in our mission to provide content that is reliable and leaves readers feeling educated, empowered, and understood.

Email us at contact@thoughtco.com and tell us about your professional expertise.

Advertise With Us

ThoughtCo offers the highest value to advertisers through a combination of scale, credibility, and intent. Interested in advertising with us? Email us at sales@thoughtco.com or check out our media kit to learn more.

Terms of Service

ThoughtCo and its affiliated sites (the “Site”) are Dotdash Meredith brands, owned and operated by Dotdash Media Inc. and its affiliates. Access to and use of the Site is subject to our terms of service (“Terms of Service”). 

Read our Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

We take online privacy seriously and we respect the concerns of our community of users. We may collect information, including personal information, directly from you if you choose to provide that information. In addition, when you access the Site, we and our third-party partners may automatically collect certain information about you and your visit, including personal information, using tools such as cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies. We may use the information gathered on the Site for various purposes, including responding to inquiries and to serve content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities.

Read our complete Privacy Policy.