Dean Bragonier's family history includes a prominent whaling ancestor from Nantucket Island and an uncle who presented the credentials of the Kingdom of Thailand (Siam at the time) to a tribunal at The Hague in The Netherlands. Dean was diagnosed with dyslexia in the third grade, thanks to a mother who was an education professional and was able to provide supportive services at a young age. After spending a number of years visiting Southeast Asia regularly and enjoying commercial success launching a number of business enterprises, Dean founded NoticeAbility to help those diagnosed with dyslexia benefit from non-text-based learning modalities. He is married to Sally Taylor, the daughter of Carly Simon and James Taylor.