Historian Grace Fielder is an expert on the history, culture, and languages of the Dalmatian coast. She holds a PhD from UCLA and is a professor of Balkan and south Slavic linguistics at the University of Arizona. Her courses on Balkan history focus on the emergence of distinct national identities following a century of ethnic and political conflict. Grace has studied the local lore, music, and cuisine of this region, and has even moonlighted as a lavender harvester on the island of Hvar.