Cynthia Busic-Snyder was born in central Ohio, where she was raised with two brothers by depression-era working class parents. She studied Visual Communication Design in the Department of Industrial Design at the Ohio State University where she developed an interest in both practicing and teaching graphic design. After working as a graphic designer and art director (identity, point of purchase, signage systems and print for both retail and business to business clients internationally) she shifted her focus to higher education and instructional design. Following a teaching career of nearly 20 years in higher education, she now works as a textile artist, printmaker and chicken wrangler in rural upstate New York.