MIMI NICHTER, Ph.D. is Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona School of Anthropology, where she holds joints appointments in the College of Public Health and the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is a cultural anthropologist who studies core concerns in contemporary American society. Her ethnographic research in the U.S. primarily focuses on adolescents and young adults. She is the author (or co-author) of four anthropology-related books. Hostage: A Memoir of Terrorism, Trauma, and Resilience is her first memoir.

She regularly speaks to numerous audiences including educators, anthropology and public health professionals, journalists, and nonprofit organizations. Mimi has delivered keynotes and lectures on adolescent and young adult practices at the Truth Initiative, National Cancer Institute, US Congress, the World Health Organization and at universities around the U.S. and abroad (India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland).

Findings of her research have been featured on websites and in newspapers including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Toronto Globe and Mail, among others. She has discussed the findings of her research on the BBC, Australian Public Radio, New Zealand Public Radio, the Radio Health Journal, and other news media. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek.com, Huffington Post, and Brevity Blog.

Mimi lives in Tucson, Arizona with her partner and a growing collection of cacti. She has two sons and three grandchildren. Whenever possible, she escapes to the ocean, preferably to remote islands, where she spends time walking on the beach, swimming, bodyboarding, and snorkeling.