Kirse Granat May received her bachelor's degree in history from Smith College and her PhD in American history from the University of Utah. She is the author of Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966 (2002), as well as several articles on California history. She began teaching American Foundations in 2014 at BYUI-I and has taught at other universities as well. She lives in Vancouver, WA.