M. Noreen Doran enjoyed a teaching career that includes kindergarten through college. She received the prestigious "Teacher of the Handicapped Award" through Rotary International and received her Masters degreee in Education at the University of York, England. Years later, she received her Ph.D in Human Development from Fielding Institute in CA, USA. Her first draft of Lil Rock's Journey showed her depth of understanding of Human Development theory, but has been heavily revised for today's version.