BIOGRAPHY
Joan Riddle Steinmann - Solve for X - creator, writer, composer
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Joan Riddle Steinmann has enjoyed singing her entire life. In 2006 she established the Choir Program at Paradigm Charter High School, in South Jordan Utah. During her seventeen year tenure the Paradigm Choir Program has developed a reputation for excellence, and have been recipients of numerous awards. In the spring of 2018, the Paradigm A Cappella Choir toured to Washington D.C. and performed with Tabernacle Choir Organist, Dr. Andrew Unsworth.
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In 2004 Joan Steinmann earned a Bachelor of Music degree, with an emphasis in Vocal Performance, from The University of Utah. Joan is an active member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) and served as Treasurer on the ACDA Utah Board from 2015 to 2021. Joan is currently serving on the board of the ACDA Western Region.
Joan Steinmann and her husband Spencer have been married since 2007. They have two daughters and one son, and also a dog, a cat, and a bunny. In her free time Joan enjoys reading, hiking, and maps of all sorts.
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​In the summer of 2019, in what turned out to be the greatest task avoidance project of her life, Joan started writing an original musical Solve for X as an alternative assignment to writing a 2,500 word essay. Over 10,000 words, and thousands of hours later, she has no regrets about the journey Solve for X has become.
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Joseph Bills - Solve for X - Collaborative Writer
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Joseph Bills was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when he was eight years old, and since then then he has been trying to figure what exactly that means. He's still not quite sure but in the process of this investigation he has accomplished many things, including getting a minor in Psychology to go with his Bachelor's in Computer Science, serving on the Brigham Young University (BYU) Autism Research Advisory Board, and helping a friend through her own journey of autism self-discovery. He is currently working on his Master's Thesis for BYU's MS/PhD program in Computer Science; his thesis is based on matching autistic adults with employers.
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Joseph Bills is also Joan Steinmann's cousin. She decided to recruit him for his expertise in autism and mathematics, and now he is helping write the musical. In addition to working on "Solve for X" and his thesis, Joseph Bills is writing a novel—Octophagia: Eight Ways to Eat and Be Eaten. It is about an autistic octopus girl—she is octistic!
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Joseph has also written numerous short stories, poems, philosophical musings, and game design documents. In addition to writing, his hobbies include listening to music, singing, playing games, and studying pure mathematics.
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Katrina Dobieski Thompson - Solve for X - Collaborative Writer
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Katrina Dobieski Thompson married the love of her life and now spends her time pursuing artistic passions. She received a BA in Music from California State University, Fullerton where she studied composition. She received a second degree in Communication Disorders, where she was introduced to the differences between autistic and neurotypical communications styles. For several years she worked in the field as a communication partner to those with autism and Down's Syndrome. She now writes cybersecurity blogs for tech publications.
Musically, she just feels lucky to own a piano and continue writing songs, the "real reason" she studied music in college.
