Ron L. Deal is a marriage and family author, speaker, and therapist (www.rondeal.org). He is Founder and President of Smart Stepfamilies (www.smartstepfamilies.com) and Director of Blended Family Ministries for FamilyLife (www.familylifeblended.

com). Ron is author of The Smart Stepfamily, The Smart Stepdad, and Dating and the Single Parent, and coauthor with Laura Petherbridge of The Smart Stepmom and with David H. Olson of The Smart Stepfamily Marriage. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor who frequently appears in the national media including FamilyLife Today, Focus on the Family, HomeWord, and The 700 Club. He's also been interviewed by Ladies Home Journal, New York Daily News, WGN-TV and ABCnews.com. He is a popular conference speaker and his video series The Smart Stepfamily DVD is used in communities, churches, and homes throughout the world. Ron is a member of the Stepfamily Expert Council for the National Stepfamily Resource Center and is a featured expert on the video curriculum Single and Parenting.

Ron and his wife, Nan, and their sons live in Little Rock, Arkansas.