Dr. Marlee S. Bunch is an interdisciplinary educator, scholar, and author whose work centers oral histories of Black educators, African American educational history, and culturally responsive teaching and leadership. She is a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and currently serves as a Senior Research Associate with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity & Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Dr. Bunch has over a decade of experience teaching across secondary and postsecondary contexts and has held leadership roles in curriculum development, educator preparation, and community-based educational initiatives. In partnership with the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education, she also created two state-approved micro-credentials—one based on The Magnitude of Us and the other on Unlearning the Hush, designed to support educators’ culturally responsive practice through sustained, reflective learning.

Dr. Bunch is the author of The Magnitude of Us (Teachers College Press), which received the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, the Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award, and the National Council of Teachers of English David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research, Unlearning the Hush: Oral Histories of Black Female Educators in Mississippi in the Civil Rights Era (University of Illinois Press), and Leveraging AI for Human-Centered Learning: Culturally Responsive and Social-Emotional Classroom Practice in Grades 6-12, co-authored with Brittany R. Collins (Routledge).

Her scholarship appears in peer-reviewed journals and public-facing venues including Radical Teacher, The Conversation, Black Perspectives, and NPR. Her work uses oral histories to center lived experience, preserve intergenerational memory, and honor the voices of Black educators whose stories are too often absent from official records. Through scholarship, storytelling, and educator learning, Dr. Bunch works to illuminate voices, reminding us that the most meaningful learning happens when we center humanity, history, and hope. To learn more please visit: https://marleebunch.com

Dr. Mary Ehrenworth has taught at Teachers College, Columbia University, for over twenty years. She now runs Ehrenworth Literacy Innovations, working nationally and globally to empower teachers and students through critical literacies and collaborative inquiry. Mary has published dozens of books and articles. Her most recent books include Vocabulary Connections: Deepening Students’ Expressive and Academic Vocabulary; AI-Enhanced Literacy and AI and Reading Instruction, co-authored with Philip Seyfried; and A High School Teacher’s Guide to AI Across the Writing Process; A High School Teacher’s Guide to Writing Memoir; and A High School Teacher’s Guide to Writing Literary Analysis, co-authored with Coley Conter and Lauren Gould. From that day long ago when a beloved teacher gave her The Secret Garden, to the days she now spends supporting children and teachers in becoming powerful and passionate readers and writers, Mary has been lucky enough to spend her time among things she loves best: books, kids, and teachers.

Gravity Goldberg is an educational consultant and author of ten books on teaching including The Body-Brain Connection, Mindsets and Moves, Teach Like Yourself, and Active Learning. During her 25 years of teaching experience she has served as a science teacher, reading specialist, third grade teacher, special educator, literacy coach, staff developer, and assistant professor. As the founding director of Gravity Goldberg, LLC she leads a team that offers side-by-side coaching and workshops that focus on teachers as decision-makers and student-led instruction.

Senior Director of Content Development and Publications at the Denver-based non-profit Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC), Wendy Ward Hoffer presents workshops for educators nationwide. Her six books include Phenomenal Teaching: A Guide for Reflection and Growth. (Heinemann, 2020), Cultivating STEM Identities: Strengthening Student and Teacher Mindsets in Math and Science (Heinemann, 2016), Developing Literate Mathematicians: A Guide for Integrating Language and Literacy Instruction into Secondary Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2016), Minds on Mathematics: Using Math Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding (Heinemann, 2012) and Science as Thinking: The Constants and Variables of Inquiry Teaching (Heinemann, 2009). She received her MA in Education from Stanford University and earned National Board Certification while teaching middle school math and science in Denver Public Schools. Wendy is the awestruck mother of two young adults. 

Penny Kittle has surrounded herself with young people, great books, and piles of their writing notebooks for 42 years across five states. She currently teaches writing part-time at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She knows the power of two essential things: all students will build independent reading lives of joy, curiosity, and hunger when given agency; and teachers who write with their students generate community and creative power. She is the author of nine books including Micro Mentor Texts, 180 Days, Book Love, and Write Beside Them. She is the Chairman of the board of the Book Love Foundation where we believe in empowering teachers through grants for books and a vibrant, worldwide community of free professional learning with authors and educators.

Lester L. Laminack is Professor Emeritus from the Department of Birth-Kindergarten, Elementary and Middle Grades Education at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where he received two awards for excellence in teaching: the Botner Superior Teaching Award and the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award.

Lester is now a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States. He is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English and has served as co-editor of the NCTE journal Primary Voices, editor of the Children's Book Review Department of Language Arts, and teaching editor for Teaching K–8. He has also served in leadership roles with numerous literacy and early childhood education organizations, including Literacy Volunteers of America, the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking.

Lester has written several professional books on literacy, reading, and writing instruction, as well as several award-winning children's books. In addition, he has published numerous articles in leading education journals, including The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, Young Children, Science and Children, and Primary Voices.

Lester was born on July 11, 1956, in Flint, Michigan, and spent much of his childhood growing up in Alabama. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Elementary Education from Jacksonville State University and a doctorate in Elementary Education and Reading from Auburn University. He now lives in Whittier, North Carolina, where he enjoys music, reading, playing the saxophone and Native American flute, and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains.

JULIA E. TORRES is a nationally recognized teacher educator, veteran language arts teacher, librarian, and teen programs administrator in Denver, Colorado. Julia facilitates teacher development workshops rooted in the areas of equity and access in literacy instruction and librarianship. Julia‘s work has been featured on NPR, PBS Education, KQED’s MindShift, Rethinking Schools, Learning for Justice Magazine, School Library Journal, American Libraries Magazine, and many more. She was a 2020 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and NCTE Colorado State High School Teacher of Excellence Her co-authored titles Liven Up Your Library: Design Engaging and Inclusive Programs for Teens and Tweens and Seasons of Literacy: A Monthly Guide to Growing Lifelong Readers and Writers are just the first of many forthcoming publications for librarians and educators.

Cris Tovani is an internationally known consultant who focuses on issues of disciplinary reading, assessment strategies, and writing instruction. She was awarded the 2017 Thought Leader award from the International Literacy Association. Cris has been an adjunct professor at several Colorado universities. She is the author of five books. Her most recent from Routledge/Stenhouse is, Why do I Have to Read This? Literacy Strategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Students.

For 39 years, Cris taught students from grades one to twelve. She continues to study the “knowing-doing gap” by investigating how best practice research can be practically applied to meet a variety of learners’ needs. Embracing a growth mindset, she loves sharing her successes and failures with colleagues as they work to serve students.

Maria Walther is a seasoned educator, author, and literacy consultant with over three decades of experience teaching first grade. Her practical, yet engaging approach to classroom instruction has made her a trusted partner for educators seeking effective teaching strategies. With a doctoral degree from Northern Illinois University, Maria is an avid researcher who continues to further her knowledge of literacy instruction. All of Maria’s books are filled with helpful ideas for busy literacy teachers. Learn more about her consulting work and find other resources at mariawalther.com or connect with her on Instagram as @mariapwalther and @ayear4thebooks.

Helen White is a literacy coach with over 25 years of experience. With a passion for teaching and learning, she has served as a classroom teacher, campus literacy coach, district trainer, and university professor. A former dyslexia and intervention teacher, she teaches evidence-based literacy practices and has presented extensively on literacy development, instructional design, and reading intervention.

Stella Villalba divides her everyday life teaching English language learners for one part of the day as she has been doing for over 20 years. The other part of her day includes collaborating and coaching teachers across the Dublin, Ohio, school district, bridging understandings regarding teaching ELLs. Stella is a Lead Ambassador for NCTE. She is passionate about languages, literacy, and culture. You can keep up with her on Twitter @stellavillalba, Instagram @stellavillalba, or at her blog, Listening and Learning: A Teaching and Coaching Life.