Mindy Nettifee was born in Iowa but spent her formative years in Southern California. She is a graduate of Chapman University and the director of the nonprofit poetry organization Write Now Poetry Society, which she co-founded with actress Amber Tambyln. She has taught poetry workshops at community centers, schools and universities across the country for 15 years, and has curated poetry events for the Smithsonian, the Getty Center, GirlFest, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and more.