Born in Nyack, William Geist has spent his entire life in The Hudson Valley region. A graduate of Tappan Zee High School, Class of 1968, he attended SUNY Oswego majoring in Industrial Arts with minors in history and science. Bill joined the teaching staff at Tappan Zee and has been a high school educator for 35 years, from 1973-2006 teaching Industrial Arts/Technology Education. He primarily taught Photography. For many years he was a freelance photographer for many local newspapers as well the Associated Press. Geist has a Masters in Art Education as well as Technology Education. Bill is the primary author of Black and White Photography Curriculum in Technology Education for the State of New York. In 1992, Geist was asked to teach a course Principles of Engineering at Tappan Zee. Lacking a sufficient budget, Bill called upon his father, Jack Geist - himself an accomplished and locally known origamist - to provide books and resources in making paper gliders and other aerodynamic structures. The result was a multiple award winning curriculum centered on origami. Upon retirement, Bill continued subbing for the school district and using origami as a motivational strategy for students Because he is asked to teach origami to elementary school children and students who have never folded before, Geist is a proponent of a minimalist approach to folding. As many as 25 models have been design, none over 17 folds. His dinosaur was the first of the designs. Bill is married for 30 years to his wife Roberta. They have two daughters and 4 grandchildren.