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Karen is a second-grade master teacher at Aspire Monarch Academy in Oakland, California. In addition to teaching, Schreiner is a mentor teacher with the Aspire Teacher Residency Program, coaching and co-teaching with a resident teacher. She is a culture lead teacher at Monarch, working with the Culture Leadership Team to improve school culture and climate. In 2016, she was awarded the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching. Twitter: @schreink.

Maria Jacketti has been a teacher for 30 years, working primarily in higher education in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

Rebecca VanderMeulen is a freelance writer in Exton, Pennsylvania. She is an M.Ed. candidate in School Counseling at West Chester University.

Gale Bournazian-Ybarra has been an educator for 23 years; as a 7th- and 8th-grade teacher in California and as a coordinator/team manager in creative problem solving organizations, for high school and middle school students, in California and Georgia.

Khyati Y. Joshi is an assistant professor in the Peter Sammartino School of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.

David Vest, a Fulbright Scholar, is a freelance writer and consultant based in Houston. He has worked extensively in the domestic violence movement.

Laura Sofen is a middle school writing teacher in Sparta, N.J. She is also a holistic health coach with a master's degree in teaching.

Cara Rene is a features writer, editor and strategic communications consultant. She lives in the greenest desert on earth in Tucson, AZ.

Rosalie Franks is a professor of writing, literature and philosophy at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. She designs lessons that inspire students to examine their values and to take action on social issues. A graduate of Smith College in English literature, she earned her master’s degrees in childhood education and curriculum development from Teachers College, Columbia University and her doctorate in humanistic education from Boston University. Early in her career, Rosalie was a fourth-grade teacher on Boston’s WGBH TV.

Pam Watts writes, teaches and blogs about childhood adversity and children’s books. She is an expert in graphic novels, and first became interested in them when she studied them in the Writing for Children & Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Since then, she has spoken about graphic novels to audiences of other writers and teachers, and she can often be found in dark corners scribbling her own. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.