Tanya Biank is an American journalist, author, and speaker. She has written two books, one of which was the inspiration for the television show, ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

''.

Early life and education

Biank comes from a family of combat veterans and active-duty service members. Her father was in the United States Army, retiring as a colonel. He served for 33 years. Her sister, Brigadier General Maria Biank, was deployed to Iraq in 2009, the same time as Tanya Biank's husband. Biank graduated from

Herndon High School Herndon High School is a fully accredited four year public high school in Herndon, Virginia, United States. Herndon serves grades 9-12 and is a part of the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) system. Herndon High School serves the town of He ...

in 1989. She attended

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where she received her bachelor's degree in journalism. She graduated in 1993. After college, Biank lived in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

for one year. She studied language and culture, while also teaching English as a second language at an all-girls school. Besides Korea, Biank has lived in a variety of places including,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, Northern Virginia, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Biank is a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Career

Biank was a newspaper reporter and traveled around the world with the troops. She was a former news reporter for the ''Fayetteville Observer''. Her coverage of the Fort Bragg Murders in 2002 led to Congressional inquiries and changes in Army policies. She is a syndicated columnist and contributing writer to various military-related publications: ''Operation Homefront,'' ''

Military Spouse ''Military Spouse'' is a monthly magazine published in the United States for military dependents. The founder of the magazine, Babette Maxwell, also runs the associated Military Spouse of the Year Awards program. The magazine was first published in ...

Magazine,'' and ''Military Officer Magazine.'' Her work has also appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

.'' Biank has been a guest on numerous television and radio outlets including, ''

Good Morning, America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

,''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Biank has written two books. Her first, ''Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage'' (2006), was originally titled, ''Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives.'' It inspired the Lifetime television series ''Army Wives,'' for which Biank served as a consultant. She also wrote the book, ''Undaunted: The Real Story of America's Servicewomen in Today's Military'' (2013). Biank's story, "Having it All," was published in ''Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life''. She has said that her work is not about her own family, but is inspired by her personal experiences. Beyond writing, Biank served as a leader of a Family Readiness Group during her husband's 2009-2010 deployment to Iraq. This organization was formed to help families face the difficult challenges of military life. She is also a member of the Society of Daughters of the U.S. Army.

Personal life

Biank is married to Colonel Michael A. Marti. They have two children.

References

External links

Tanya Biank websiteTanya Biank interview
at Hispanic.com
Tanya Biank interview
at veterans Journal
Tanya Biank bio
at Penguin
Tanya Biank: Why would a woman join the military?
at Penguin blog * {{DEFAULTSORT:Biank, Tanya Living people Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American columnists American women columnists Year of birth missing (living people)