Dr. Francis (Skip) Fennell has had a long and varied career in mathematics education including experience as a classroom teacher, a principal, and a supervisor of instruction. He is currently Professor of Education at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, where he directs the Elementary Mathematics Specialists and Teacher Leaders Project (EMS&TL).  Dr. Fennell has been the recipient of numerous awards including Maryland's Outstanding Mathematics Educator (1990), McDaniel College's Professor of the Year, and the CASE - Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year for Maryland and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics’ Glenn Gilbert National Leadership Award. Widely published in articles and textbooks related to elementary and middle-grade mathematics education, Dr. Fennell is the immediate past president of NCTM, where he helped create and promote the influential “Curriculum Focal Points” document. More recently, he served on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, a White House-commissioned group charged with identifying effective practices in mathematics education.  

Dr. William F. Tate IV is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Regional Competitiveness in Science and Technology.  Professor Tate is a past president of the American Educational Research Association. He served as scholar-in-residence and assistant superintendent—mathematics and science in the Dallas Independent School District. In addition, he served as project director of the Dallas Urban Systemic Program. His responsibilities included leading the implementation of a theory of change that called for policy and resource alignment with a central goal of improved student outcomes in mathematics, engineering, technology and science (METS).  He has authored scores of publications focused on METS attainment and urban studies. 

Dr. Dorothy Y. White is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on equity in mathematics education by examining effective ways to increase the mathematical performance of students of color. In particular, she studies the development of professional learning communities in urban schools, alternative methods for the professional development of teachers, and the preparation of preservice teachers to work in culturally diverse mathematics classrooms. Dr. White is currently PI for Project ISMAC (Improving Students’ Mathematics Achievement through a Professional Learning Community), a member of the NCTM Research Committee, and Editor for the Research, Reflection and Practice Department of the journal Teaching Children Mathematics.