Richard D. Robinson is Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Missouri--Columbia. He is the author of 10 books and numerous articles on many areas of literacy development. His national prominence in the field of literacy has been acknowledged through many awards, such as the William H. Byler Distinguished Professor Award..

Michael C. McKenna is Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading at the University of Virginia. He has authored, coauthored, or edited 21 books and more than 100 articles, chapters, and technical reports on a range of literacy topics.

Kristin Conradi is a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia. She has taught literacy in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades in high-poverty, inner city schools, and she has worked as a reading specialist in grades K-3. She has served as a clinician in the McGuffey Reading Clinic, where she has worked extensively with young children who suffer from severe reading problems.