Diane H. Tracey, EdD, is Professor of Education at Kean University. She has written widely on topics related to literacy achievement and is an active presenter at local, state, and national conferences. Dr. Tracey has served as Secretary of the Literacy Research Association and on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Literacy Research, The Reading Teacher, the National Reading Conference Yearbook, and Education and Urban Society. Currently she is coeditor of the Journal of School Connections. Dr. Tracey is a recipient of Kean University’s Presidential Scholars Challenge Award. Prior to her work at the university level, she was an early childhood educator and a research assistant on a large, federally funded grant project studying children’s reading disabilities. Dr. Tracey is also a graduate student at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, training to become a modern psychoanalyst.
 
Lesley Mandel Morrow, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Literacy Development at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. A former classroom teacher and reading specialist, her research deals with multiple topics in early literacy development. Dr. Morrow has more than 300 publications, including journal articles, chapters, monographs, and books. She is a recipient of Excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service awards from Rutgers; the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award, the Special Service Award, and the William S. Gray Citation of Merit from the International Literacy Association (ILA); the Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement from Fordham University; and the Oscar S. Causey Award from the Literacy Research Association. Dr. Morrow has served as president of both the ILA and the Reading Hall of Fame.