DR. JOHN BARRELL
John Barell is an educator who explored the many possibilities of educating young people in nontraditional settings in New York City public schools and at Montclair State University (NJ). His published writings reflect challenges to students and their teachers to take risks by adventuring into complex problematic situations to inquire, solve problems, and think critically. Now professor emeritus at Montclair State University, Barell worked from 2000 to 2006 as a consultant to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, helping teachers and students become inquisitive about the wonders of earth and space. His current research involves taking issues raised in Developing More Curious Minds and asking how we can develop communities of inquiry at home, school, in places of work, and within our democracy.

FRANK CHAMPINE
Frank Champine graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from La Salle University in Philadelphia and he holds two Master's degrees, one in Integrative Education and the other in the Humanities. Frank taught social studies from grades six to twelve over the course of his 35 years in public education. During the final ten years of his career he served as the social studies coordinator. In 1984, Frank was designated the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. He has served as a workshop presenter for Understanding by Design and he has assisted several school districts in curriculum revision projects utilizing the design model. For the past several years, Frank has provided expert reviews for the ASCD UbdExchange giving feedback on units in social studies and the humanities.

DR. NANCY DANA
Dr. Nancy Dana is currently a Professor of Education and Director of the Center for School Improvement at the University of Florida. The Center focuses on practitioner inquiry as a core mechanism for school improvement throughout the state.

Preceding her position at the University of Florida, Dr. Dana was a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Co-Director of the State College Area School District-Pennsylvania State University Elementary Professional Development School Program at Penn State.

Dr. Nancy Dana has been personally coaching and studying the action research of elementary, middle, and high-school teachers since 1990. Dr. Dana’s experiences and research led her to co-author the Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research, taking practitioners throughout the nation through the action research process step-by-step since its publication in 2003. In addition, she has published over 30 articles and book chapters and recently completed a new book on coaching the action research process, The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Professional Development: Coaching Inquiry-Oriented Learning Communities. Her current research focuses on applying the success of the action research process for teachers to administration, with a third book on the this topic available from Corwin Press in 2009, along with the second edition of her first book, co-authored with Diane Yendol-Hoppey. As a result of her extensive work in action research, she is considered to be a leading expert in this area.

JESSICA HOCKETT
Jessica Hockett is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology (Gifted Education and Research Methodology emphases) at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. As a research assistant for The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Jessica worked on a three-year, federally-funded study on how teachers identify and develop talent in diverse K-2 classrooms. She is currently writing differentiated online Advanced Placement social science courses for Project LOgGED On, a Javits grant project dedicated to helping underserved highly able learners meet their academic potential. Jessica has given numerous conference, workshop, and in-service presentations related to differentiation. She collaborates with districts in the United States and Canada to implement long-term initiatives for differentiated instruction. Jessica’s work with differentiation also extends to online professional development, curriculum design, and evaluation. Prior to doctoral study, Jessica was a secondary English, social studies, and math teacher in the Chicago area.

JOHN LARMER
John oversees all curriculum materials development at Buck Institute for Education , including the writing and editing of products such as the PBL Toolkit, Project Based Government, and Project Based Economics. In addition, he consults on curriculum development efforts for other school reform organizations, conducts professional development workshops, and contributes to BIE's research work. John began his career in education as a high school social studies and English teacher. He was a school coach for the Bay Area Coalition of Essential Schools and a member of the CES-Citibank National School Reform Faculty. At WestEd, as a member of the Western Assessment Collaborative, he coached schools in the use of standards and assessments to improve instruction. John also served as an External Evaluator for the state of Calfornia's "Immediate Intervention/Underperforming School Program" and contributed to the writing of Aiming High: High Schools for the 21st Century, the CA State Department of Education's 2002 blueprint for high school reform. John received his B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, and holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University. He lives in Mill Valley, CA with his wife and two children.

PAMELA LIVINGSTON
Pamela's interest and expertise is in helping educators learn the tools and techniques of 21st Century technology while considering the realities of the busy classroom. She spent the past fifteen years supporting technology-using teachers in schools, most recently as the Head of Technology at the Peck School in Morristown, NJ. A frequent presenter and keynote at national conferences such as the National Educational Computer Conference, Lausanne's Laptop Institute, South Dakota's Laptop Conference, and Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation’s leadership summits, she also develops workshops, and provides advice for U.S. and international schools, districts, and corporations. Pamela's book "1-to-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work", is a result of interviewing laptop educators around the U.S., reviewing studies and best practices on the 1-to-1 classroom, and experience overseeing the Peck School's laptop program. This book is publisher International Society for Technology in Education’s current best seller. She holds a B.S. in computer systems and an M.S. in education technology. Pamela is now a fulltime presenter, writer, and consultant for schools in the U.S. and overseas.

TIM LUCAS
Tim is currently a Professor of Practice at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, in the Graduate Education Leadership Program. He retired as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the Glen Rock Public Schools, New Jersey. He has been involved with public education for the past 30 years, having taught elementary school, middle school, high school, and college courses. He has been a middle school vice principal, elementary principal, and superintendent of schools.

DR. JOHN R. MERGENDOLLER
John works in partnership with the Buck Institute for Education Board of Trustees to improve 21st Century teaching and learning by creating and disseminating the products, practices and professional development necessary for effective project based learning. He is responsible for overall program management, long-range planning and the development of partnerships with national and international educational organizations, school consortia and foundations committed to expanding the use of project based learning. Before assuming the position of Executive Director, John was BIE's Research Director, and before that Senior Program Director at the Far West Laboratory (now WestEd), a federally-funded regional educational laboratory. He began his career teaching music in rural Louisiana elementary schools as a VISTA volunteer, and then taught high school English and French at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire and the Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. John received an A.B. in Letters from Wesleyan University, an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan. He lives in Mill Valley, California with his wife, Jessica Muller.

DR. FRED NEWMANN
Dr. Fred Newmann is a retired professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin. Originally, he was involved in Social Studies education at the high school level. This led him to return for research and development in Social Studies curriculum with the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools at the University of Wisconsin. Throughout 1990-1995, Dr. Newmann studied the nature of re-organization and educational restructuring of K-12 identifying Authentic Intellectual Work and the involvement process. He then became lead researcher for the Evaluation of Chicago Annenberg Challenge, at the University of Chicago from 1996-2001. Dr. Newmann studied, developed, and elaborated the concept of Authentic Instruction receiving a Presidential Citation from the American Education Research Association. As a result of these studies Dr. Newmann is considered to be the leading expert on Authentic Intellectual Work.

DR. CAROL ANN TOMLINSON
Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson is professor of educational leadership, foundations, and policy at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education, where she was named Outstanding Professor in 2004. She is co-director of the university's summer institute on academic diversity. Tomlinson's career as an educator includes 21 years as a public school teacher, with 12 years as a program administrator for advanced and struggling learners. Tomlinson, a reviewer for eight journals and a section editor for one, is the author of over 100 articles, book chapters, books, and other professional development materials.