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Innovative educational approaches have always been a
mission for Mindy Bingham. As a part-time college
professor, seminar leader for educators, author,
publisher, and community activist, Mindy has dedicated
herself to improving education. She has traveled around
the country conducting workshops for teachers and
curriculum specialists.
In 1985, she was named one of the outstanding women
in education by the Santa Barbara County Commission
for Women. In 1991, she was named an honorary life
member to the Vocational Education Equity Council
(VEEC) of the American Vocational Association. In 2001,
she was honored with the Woman of Distinction Award by
the Santa Barbara Associates and the Breaking Traditions
Award of the Equity County of the Association for Career
and Technical Education. In addition to her creativity and writing skills, Mindy is a savvy business woman. In 1998, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the South Coast Business Network. |
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Since college, Mindy Bingham envisioned someday creating a curriculum that high schools
could use to motivate young people to stay in school and prepare themselves for a career
and a satisfying life. In 1990, when she finally had the financial reserves to capitalize her
dream, she started Academic Innovations from her home office and garage.
To date, titles authored or co-authored by Mindy Bingham have sold over two million
copies. They include Career Choices: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults, Lifestyle Math,
and Possibilities. An ambitious endeavor, this interdisciplinary curriculum is being used in
over 4,300 schools and 100 job readiness programs across the country, and has sold
over 400,000 copies. Over the years, Career Choices has received national acclaim. In
2000, the United States Department of Education awarded the Career Choices series its
coveted "promising" citation as a curriculum that works.
Her best-selling Choices: A Teen Woman's Journal for Self-Awareness and Personal
Planning and Challenges, the young man's version, are credited with helping "kick-start"
the gender equity movement in the early 1980's. Her children's picture books include the
Ingram number one best-seller (August 1987) Minou and My Way Sally, the 1989 Ben
Franklin Award winner for Best Children's Picture Book. Mindy's latest book is with Viking/
Penguin: Things Will Be Different For My Daughter: A Practical Guide to Building Her Self-
Esteem and Self-Reliance from Infancy through the Teen Years.
Mindy lives in Montecito, California, with her husband, Jim Comiskey. Her daughter,
Wendy, graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Business
Administration and is now a partner with her mom in Academic Innovations, functioning
as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. |
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