Marie Tejero Hughes is a Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. She has been widely published in a variety of academic journals on topics related to literacy, teacher education, and family involvement. She has also held a number of leadership roles, including chair of the Special Education Special Interest Group at the American Educational Research Association and executive committee member of the Council for Exceptional Children's Teacher Education Division.

Elizabeth Talbott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. She serves as past-president and legislative advocate for the Council for Exceptional Children-Division for Research.  She is co-chair of the curriculum committee and faculty member in the National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention, and conducts research in the fields of special education, clinical psychology, and educational psychology.