Jana Echevarrìa is a Professor Emerita at California State University, Long Beach. She has taught in elementary, middle, and high schools in general education, special education, ESL, and bilingual programs. She has lived in Taiwan, Spain and Mexico. An internationally known expert on second language learners, Dr. Echevarrìa is a Fulbright Specialist. Her research and publications focus on effective instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities. Currently, she is Co-Principal Investigator with the Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In 2005, Dr. Echevarrìa was selected as Outstanding Professor at CSULB.

MaryEllen Vogt, Ed.D., is a Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach. Dr. Vogt has been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, special education specialist, curriculum coordinator, and university teacher educator. She received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a co-author of fifteen books, including Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World (3rd ed., 2011) and the SIOP® book series. Her research interests include improving comprehension in the content areas, teacher change and development, and content literacy and language acquisition for English learners. She was inducted into the California Reading Hall of Fame, received her university's Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, and served as President of the International Reading Association in 2004-2005.

Deborah J. Short is a professional development consultant and a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. She co-developed the SIOP® Model for sheltered instruction and has directed national research studies on English language learners funded by the Carnegie Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the U.S. Dept. of Education. She chaired an expert panel on adolescent ELL literacy that produced a policy report. As the director of Academic Language Research & Training, Dr. Short provides professional development on sheltered instruction and academic literacy around the U.S. and abroad. She has numerous publications, including the SIOP® book series and five ESL textbook series for National Geographic/Hampton-Brown. She has taught English as a second/foreign language in New York, California, Virginia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.