LINDA FLANAGAN is a freelance journalist, researcher, and former cross-country and track coach. A graduate of Lehigh University, Flanagan holds masters degrees from Oxford University and the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and was an analyst for the National Security Program at Harvard University. She is a founding board member of the New York City chapter of the Positive Coaching Alliance and a 2020-21 advisory group member for the Aspen Institutes Reimagining School Sports initiative, and her writing on sports has appeared in The Atlantic, Runners World, and on NPRs education site MindShift, where she is a regular contributor. A mother of three and a lifelong athlete, Flanagan lives in New Jersey.