William Ray is an independent scholar in Santa Clara, CA. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, taught college English, and served as CEO or CDO for nonprofit organizations including the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, The Scripps Research Institute, and Palo Alto Medical Foundation. He founded SteinbeckNow.com, writes about Steinbeck’s religion, and serves as organist at a church in Los Gatos, CA, where Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath.