Jana Echevarría 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. Echevarría 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. Echevarría was selected as Outstanding Professor at CSULB.

Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., directs Academic Language Research & Training, LLC and provides professional development on academic literacy, content-based ESL, and sheltered instruction worldwide. Formerly she was a Division Director at the Center for Applied Linguistics where she co-developed the research-validated SIOP Model for sheltered instruction. She has directed research and program evaluations on English learners for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. Department of Justice, among others. Publications include the SIOP Model books, ESL textbooks for National Geographic Learning, and numerous professional journal articles. She taught ESL/EFL in New York, California, Virginia, and the DR Congo. She recently served on TESOL International’s Board of Directors.

MaryEllen Vogt is 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. Dr. Vogt 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.