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Our Story…

The Dissertation Coach has been providing high quality academic coaching, consulting, and workshops to graduate students, researchers, and professors around the world since 2000.

When stay-at-home orders were issued due to the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, we felt called to respond compassionately. Inspired by our desire to provide the support, connection, and camaraderie our clients needed, we…

  •  Created an innovative way for academic writers to persevere
  •  Created a virtual coworking community where we work in solidarity.
  •  Created a structured 2-hour “writing retreat” approach that yields reliable results

This is how The Academic Writers’ Space was born. We are grateful to the clients of The Dissertation Coach who wholeheartedly participated in our writing retreats while we developed and built this vibrant community. We are proud to have created a context that fosters productivity, leads to growth, and reveals inner wisdom about what it takes to develop and sustain an effective writing practice.

We are The Academic Writers’ Space

Alison Miller, Ph.D. & Ray Meek, Owners and Founders of The Academic Writers’ Space and The Dissertation Coach – We are a married team dedicated to the support of academics.

Alison Miller, Ph.D. is committed to helping graduate students and academics around the world achieve their goals and fulfill their professional potential. She created The Academic Writers’ Space to provide ongoing structure and a friendly community to all who need support and want results. During graduate school, Alison became very aware of the mental, emotional, technical, and time management challenges faced by graduate students struggling to finish masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations. Alison has seen professors and other academics struggle with similar obstacles to completing articles and books. She founded The Dissertation Coach as a way to help, and Alison and her team of caring experts have guided and coached over 10,000 students, researchers, and professors on their writing journeys to completed theses, dissertations, manuscripts, and books. Alison is in demand to lead dissertation workshops at universities across the United States, and is the author of Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All: How to Overcome Psychological Barriers, Get Results, and Move On with Your Life (Miller, 2009). Alison has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cornell University.

Ray Meek, has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee. Ray worked with internationally recognized, award-winning architectural firms domestically and abroad for 25 years. His focus throughout his career was on the technical performance and project management aspect of his firm’s specialty of mixed-use commercial high-rise projects. In 2008, Ray joined The Dissertation Coach full time as the CFO to oversee the development and management of the company’s contractual and financial operations. Ray brings his skills in project management and oversight to The Dissertation Coach and is responsible for the well-developed financial system the company uses to run a sound business. Ray is highly committed to sound financial management, thus allowing our coaching and consulting team to focus their energy on serving our clients and helping them succeed.

Alison Miller, Ph.D. & Ray Meek, Owners and Founders of The Academic Writers’ Space and The Dissertation Coach – We are a married team dedicated to the support of academics.

Alison Miller, Ph.D. is committed to helping graduate students and academics around the world achieve their goals and fulfill their professional potential. She created the Academic Writers’ Space to provide ongoing structure and a friendly community to all who need support and want results. During graduate school, Alison became very aware of the mental, emotional, technical, and time management challenges faced by graduate students struggling to finish masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations. Alison has seen professors and other academics struggle with similar obstacles to completing articles and books. She founded The Dissertation Coach as a way to help, and Alison and her team of caring experts have guided and coached over 10,000 students, researchers, and professors on their writing journeys to completed theses, dissertations, manuscripts, and books. Alison is in demand to lead dissertation workshops at universities across the United States, and is the author of Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All: How to Overcome Psychological Barriers, Get Results, and Move On with Your Life (Miller, 2009). Alison has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cornell University.

Ray Meek, has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee. Ray worked with internationally recognized, award-winning architectural firms domestically and abroad for 25 years. His focus throughout his career was on the technical performance and project management aspect of his firm’s specialty of mixed-use commercial high-rise projects. In 2008, Ray joined The Dissertation Coach full time as the CFO to oversee the development and management of the company’s contractual and financial operations. Ray brings his skills in project management and oversight to The Dissertation Coach and is responsible for the well-developed financial system the company uses to run a sound business. Ray is highly committed to sound financial management, thus allowing our coaching and consulting team to focus their energy on serving our clients and helping them succeed.

Our Team Leaders Ray and Alison

Facilitators