Julie Close
"Know your own power. It's the only magic you need."
Julie Close has always loved history. One of her favorite childhood stories to tell her daughters is from her sophomore year American History class. The teacher returned an exam, and Julie immediately began searching her textbook for the correct answers to the questions she got wrong. The girl to her left poked her and said “why are you wasting your time looking up the answers. The test is over so it doesn’t matter. Move on!” Julie just laughed, because she couldn’t imagine not wanting to find out what really happened.
Julie took that passion to find out “what really happened” with her to Northwestern University, where she chose a History major. Since then, Julie has spent hours reading, researching, and discovering amazing women who she never learned about in history class. She started sharing their stories with her daughters and talking about them with her friend Jeryn. Those conversations evolved into The Glinda Factor.
In her former life, Julie practiced law in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Minneapolis and taught legal research, writing and argument at the University of Michigan and University of St. Thomas. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School but didn’t meet Jeryn until she moved to Minnesota! She lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, and one crazy dog.
Jeryn Konezny
"Dare to carve your own path, rather than follow a yellow brick road."
Jeryn Konezny is fascinated by our forgotten history — the stories of people and events that have been lost to time. In particular, she likes to explore those stories through firsthand accounts such as letters, autobiographies, and historical documents. And she loves to share what she learns with her daughters (whether they also enjoy the experience is up for debate).
Over the years, Jeryn started to notice a theme — a lot of her research projects highlighted strong women throughout American history. One day her daughter commented, "Mom you have so much content, you need to DO something with it." She was right! And co-founding The Glinda Factor with her friend, Julie, seemed to be a natural choice.
Jeryn Konezny is also the author of a book series, Our Family's Grand Tour of America (the 50 States, the Presidents, and the First Ladies). For a few years, she and her daughters embarked on a new project every summer. The books include everything they learned during those summer projects.
In her former life, Jeryn Konezny practiced law in downtown Minneapolis and graduated from University of Michigan Law School. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs.