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Kaia Tollefson’s career in education began in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1983. She was a middle school teacher there for nine years and worked in administration for the next five—first as a curriculum and staff development coordinator and then as an elementary school principal. She discovered a passion for teacher education while pursuing her doctoral degree in language, literacy, and sociocultural studies, awarded by the University of New Mexico in 2004.

Monica Osborn has been teaching at Puesta del Sol Elementary School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, since 1994. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in education from the University of New Mexico in 1994 and 1995, respectively, and an education specialist degree in educational leadership in 2007. She is a certified Reading Recovery teacher, currently teaching grades K–2 in a multiage inclusion classroom.

Jill Fisher DeMarco worked with adults with disabilities for 15 years before beginning her career in special education. She has taught high school students in the Occupational Course of Study and currently is in the seventh year of teaching at the Progressive Education Program at Valley Springs Middle School in Arden, NC. She was the 2005–2006 Teacher of the Year for the program.

Dorothy Dendy Smith has taught in the field of special education for 26 years. She is currently the autism specialist for Buncombe County Schools. She was Special Educator of Excellence for Buncombe County Schools for the 2006-2007 school year, and Teacher of the Year for the Progressive Education Program in Buncombe County Schools for the year 2000-2001.

Martha Worley has taught for 15 years in the public schools as a speech pathologist. She is currently a speech pathologist at the Progressive Education Program at Roberson High School in Asheville, NC. She also works with other schools in Buncombe County to provide access for students with mild to significant disabilities. She was the Special Education Teacher of Excellence for Buncombe County Schools in the 2001-2002 school year.

Daniel R. Venables is founder and executive director of the Center for Authentic PLCs, a research and consulting firm dedicated to assisting schools build and sustain authentic Professional Learning Communities. He is a Math/Science Fellow with the Coalition of Essential Schools and an award-winning classroom teacher of 24 years.

Diana Raney Williams, Ph.D., PCC is a leadership coach with Coaching For Results, Inc. where she serves as Chief of Evaluation Services and as a member of the Board of Directors. She consults across the country in professional development activities related to school improvement, school leadership and leadership coaching. She served as an urban educator for over thirty years in the Columbus, Ohio City School District.

Janice R. Fauske, upon earning her B.A. in English with a secondary teaching endorsement, began her career as a seventh grade English teacher in a rural, economically deprived school district in Virginia. After earning an M.S.Ed. in Reading Psychology, she taught special education in an inner city school district and later moved to college teaching at a small Virginia college.

Stephen Rushton is an Associate Professor in the Childhood Education Department at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, and he has been teaching for USF for the last eight years. He supervises student teachers and teaches courses in research, elementary education methods, and the writing process. Dr. Rushton previously taught elementary education for twelve years in Ontario, Canada, and Oakridge, Tennessee.

Sylvia M. Roberts heads programs in educational administration and supervision at the City College of New York, teaching graduate coursework in educational administration and supervision. Roberts has also taught in middle school and served as consultant and facilitator in numerous school districts.

Eunice Z. Pruitt is currently an educational consultant and director of professional development for Corn Associates, helping schools align their curriculum and assessment practices with state core curriculum standards. As well as teaching and serving as principal in elementary schools, Pruitt has also taught graduate courses at the City University of New York in leadership, educational planning, and systems problem solving.