Laura Berbusse, Co-founder
Fascinated by language in all its forms, Laura received her B.A. in Writing from University of Central Arkansas and her M.A. in Linguistics from University of Hawaii at Manoa. While working toward her graduate degree, she served one semester as Instructor of an introductory linguistics course and two semesters as Co-director of the Language Documentation Training Center.

In 2010, Laura conducted individual field work in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and used ethnographic and psycholinguistic methods, along with traditional documentation, to examine the features of the country's native language, Marshallese. She is especially interested in the relationship between migration and language change.

While working toward her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Laura held editorial positions at national and regional publications, including The Oxford American Magazine and Honolulu Magazine. Upon completion of her M.A., she decided to direct her writing skills toward charitable causes and has held a position in nonprofit development since 2011.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Utah Cultural Alliance and on the Fundraising Day Planning Committee of the Utah Society of Fund Raisers, in addition to her involvement in the Utah Grantwriters' Association. To her role as Co-founder of Glotonomy, Laura brings substantial experience in writing winning grant proposals focused on original linguistics research, youth programs, the arts, and more.

Laura’s passion for helping others extends beyond work hours, apparent from her past service as a mentor for Salt Lake Community Writing Center’s Teens Write! program, as well as from her current roles as ½ an Intermountain Therapy Animals team (with the other half enthusiastically filled by her golden retriever mix, Sunny) and as a Team Ambassador for Girls on the Run. You can find some of her non-grant-related writings in Utah Stories Magazine, a nonprofit publication.

Chris Rogers, Ph.D., Co-founder
Chris Rogers received his PhD in linguistics from the University of Utah and has held positions teaching in higher education in both California and Utah. He is currently Assistant Professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, and Adjunct Online Instructor at Utah State University. At the University of Utah he held positions as an Associate Instructor of linguistics and as the interim Director of the Center for American Indian Languages. In California he held positions as an Adjunct Instructor of linguistics (SDSU) and Instructor of English as a Second Language (SDCCD).

Immensely enjoying linguistic field work, Chris has been the recipient of a Steffenson-Cannon fellowship (twice) at the University of Utah and an NSF-funded language documentation grant on Máku (an extinct Amazonian language). He has significant experience with working with native communities in the Americas and beyond. Specifically, he has conducted original research on the Xinkan languages (Guatemala), Mixteco (Mexico), Wichí (Argentina), Quechua (Peru), Ninam (Brazil), Máku (Venezuela), Sapé (Venezuela, Brazil), Uruak (Venezuela, Brazil), North Saami (Finland), and Karen (Myanmar). He is currently working on an ongoing project involving Máku, Tol, Lencan, Xinkan, and K’iche.

Chris's especially values helping community members reach their own language planning goals and desires, and his research has resulted in the production of language descriptions, online language learning materials, and annotated language data. He is fluent in both English and Spanish and has proficiency in Italian, German, and Portuguese.

Additionally, Chris has published a number of articles and academic papers on linguistics, endangered languages, and language documentation. He also has two books being published in the Spring of 2016.