Jill Colella earned a master's degree at the University of Maryland in English literature, specializing in Vietnam War narratives in film and literature. Ms. Colella, the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, founded The Children of Vietnam Combat Veterans Project in 1997 to speak to the specific concerns of families of veterans. She is the author of After Vietnam: War Stories from a Veteran's Daughter, a memoir of the effects her father's service in Vietnam had on her family life.