Laura Vanderkam, a New York City-based freelance writer, is a member of USA Today's Board of Contributors. Her work has also appeared in Reader's Digest, The American, The Huffington Post, and other publications. She reports and writes on a variety of topics including careers, education, economics, science, health and pop culture trends. She is the author of Grindhopping: Build a Rewarding Career without Paying Your Dues (McGraw-Hill, November 2006). With Jan and Bob Davidson, she is co-author of Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds (Simon & Schuster, April 2004) and is co-author, with Dr. David Clayton, of The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living (Simon & Schuster, January 2006).