Linda Adler-Kassner is Associate Vice Chancellor of Teaching and Learning; Faculty Director of the Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning; and Distinguished Professor of Writing Studies at UC Santa Barbara. As a researcher, teacher, and administrator, Adler-Kassner’s work focuses on studying and improving conditions for equitable and inclusive learning. She has served as a department chair, dean, and department chair. A writing teacher for more than 30 years, she has also taught courses ranging from first year composition (aka “freshman comp”) to graduate courses in composition theory and pedagogy. Author, co-author, or co-editor of 13 books and more than 50 articles and book chapters, Adler-Kassner’s scholarship has garnered multiple awards. These include Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies and Writing Expertise: A Research-Based Approach to Writing and Learning Across Disciplines, both with Elizabeth Wardle. Adler-Kassner has also served as the President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators; the Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, writing studies’ major disciplinary association; and an executive board member for the National Council of Teachers of English.

Chris W. Gallagher is professor of English at Northeastern University in Boston. He has published widely on teaching and assessing writing and on learning and institutional change in K-12 and higher education. He is author or co-author of five books, including College Made Whole: Integrative Learning for a Divided World (Johns Hopkins University Press), and many articles in writing studies and education journals. His co-written book with Kristi Girdharry and Kevin Smith, Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education, is forthcoming from MIT Press. Professor Gallagher has held numerous administrative positions, including writing program director, associate dean for experiential teaching and learning, vice chancellor for global learning, vice provost for undergraduate education, and vice provost for curriculum. He teaches courses in writing and pedagogy at every level of the curriculum, from first-year writing to graduate seminars on topics such as “Writing and Community Engagement,” “Literacy and AI,” and “Writing, Language, and Policy.”

Jonathan Alexander is Chancellor’s Professor of English and chair of the Department of English at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of twenty-five books in the fields of writing and rhetoric and sexuality studies. He is also an award-winning memoirist and author several books of creative nonfiction.

Chris Blankenship is Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment at Salt Lake Community College, where he has also served as Director of Faculty Development and faculty in the Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies. His scholarship explores topics in the assessment of academic programs and the writing done in them and academic models of labor and leadership. His most recent work has appeared in the Journal of Writing Assessment and WPAs in Transition: Navigating Educational Leadership Positions.

Beth Brunk, PhD is Dean of Extended University at the University of Texas at El Paso. Extended University supports Professional and Public Programs; the Center for Instructional Design; the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute; UTEP Online, UTEP’s suite of fully online degree programs; and the Office of Youth Program Development and Support. She is currently co-leading UTEP’s initiatives on Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning as well as microcredentials. Dr. Brunk is professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies and has served in several other administrative roles at UTEP including Director of First-Year Composition, Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Senior Associate Dean of Extended University. A member of the inaugural class of University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, Dr. Brunk is also a recipient of the University of Texas Academy Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. She has served on national boards and task forces, and has published in the areas of online teaching and learning, online collaboration, student retention and persistence, serving diverse student populations, and academic administration. She has served on over 40 dissertation committees and chaired 26 of them. Dr. Brunk holds a PhD in English from the University of Texas at Arlington, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications/Advertising from New Mexico State University.

Sheila Carter-Tod, PhD is the Executive Director, of the University Writing Program, Professor in the Department of English and Literary Arts and the director of the Black Studies Minor, at University of Denver. Her research/teaching/service/outreach focuses on writing program administration, leadership, race and rhetorics, composition theory and writing pedagogy, and African American Literature and Studies.

As the Senior Vice Provost for Student Success & Academic Affairs and Dean of the University College at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Dr. Jonikka Charlton is responsible for a wide range of units that support students’ success, including offices and initiatives devoted to tutoring, advising, career services, experiential learning, degree progress and graduation initiatives, first year experience/transitional programming, secondary educational partnerships, course and program redesign, as well as teaching and learning for student success. With more than two decades of experience as a faculty member and administrator, she is particularly invested in ensuring that universities are responsive to the needs of all students and that we design the kinds of learning experiences that will help students find purpose and commitment in pursuing their educational dreams.

Dr. Heidi Estrem serves as Chief Academic Officer for the Idaho State Board of Education. In this role, she advocates for higher education, leads sustainable and supportive policy implementation, and supports students and faculty at the state’s eight public institutions. Formerly a writing professor and program administrator, her leadership has earned national recognition and has advanced inclusive writing instruction. Estrem’s scholarship focuses on pedagogy, assessment, and faculty development, often in collaborative projects. She also co-developed The Write Class, a widely adopted online writing placement tool, and has led statewide reform in first-year writing. Her extensive university experience provides texture and context for her current policy work, always centered on expanding access and engagement in postsecondary education.

Jeff Grabill is the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Prior to that, Jeff served as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds and was at Michigan State University for nearly 20 years, where he served as the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and a Professor of Rhetoric and Professional Writing. His research focuses on how rhetoric is associated with citizenship and learning. Grabill is also a co-founder of Drawbridge, an educational technology company.

With a long tenure at Montclair State University, Emily Isaacs has served in a range of leadership roles, from Writing Program Director to Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs. Across these positions, she has sought to motivate others to lean into their experiences and strengths to create better solutions to the problems they encounter, and to view leadership as a creative opportunity rather than a chore. Emily holds tenure in the Writing Studies department. Her research focuses on writing pedagogy and assessment, and on teaching, learning, and administration in higher education. Her work has appeared in Pedagogy, College English, Writing Program Administration, Writing Center Journal, Journal of Teaching Writing, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and in several edited collections. She is also the author of three books, including Writing at the State U (Utah State University Press). She is currently working on a book for Johns Hopkins University Press, Building Strong Students, and continues to write on higher education leadership. For Emily, higher education remains a deeply rewarding field, despite its challenges, because it allows her to interact with and learn from smart people across disciplines.

Carmen Kynard is the Lillian Radford Chair in Rhetoric and Composition and Professor of English at Texas Christian University. Before joining TCU in 2019, she worked in English, Gender Studies, Urban Education, and Critical Psychology at the City University of New York. She has taught high school with the New York City public schools/Coalition of Essential Schools, served as a writing program administrator, worked as a teacher educator, and led numerous professional development projects on language and literacy. Her award-wining research, teaching, and scholarship interrogate anti-racism, Black feminist pedagogies, AfroDigital/Black cultures and languages, and the politics of schooling with an emphasis on composition and literacies studies. Carmen has published in Harvard Educational Review, Changing English, College Composition and Communication, College English, Computers and Composition, Reading Research Quarterly, Literacy and Composition Studies and more. Her award-winning book, Vernacular Insurrections: Race, Black Protest, and the New Century in Composition-Literacy Studies, makes Black Freedom a twenty-first-century literacy movement. She traces her research and teaching at her website, “Education, Liberation, and Black Radical Traditions” (carmenkynard.org) which has garnered over two million hits since its 2012 inception.

Erin Lehman is professor of English and Faculty Lead for the online School of Arts, Sciences, & Education at Ivy Tech Community College. She has taught at Ivy Tech Community College for 15 years, serving as instructor and department chair at a small rural campus and now online dean of the College’s centralized delivery hub for online courses. In her current role, she works with about 800 TYC faculty members and oversees 40,000 student seats (duplicated headcount) each term. She serves as president for CWPA and co-facilitated the CWPA Summer Workshop (2022-2023). She serves as a Faculty Advising Editor for Young Scholars in Writing, and her work has been published in the Journal of Teaching Writing and Understanding WPA Readiness and Renewal (2023).

Dr. Candace de León-Zepeda is a first-generation college graduate, scholar-practitioner, and higher education leader with over 24 years of experience. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, specializing in Cultural Rhetoric and Written Communication. Currently serving as Associate Provost and inaugural Dean of Academics at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), she provides strategic leadership for three colleges and more than 100 faculty and staff. Beginning as an Assistant Professor of English, Dr. de León-Zepeda advanced through roles as Department Chair and Director of Mass Communication before becoming the university’s sole dean. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to shared governance, equity, and student success. She has spearheaded faculty development initiatives, accreditation compliance, and innovative academic structures, including a University College model to improve persistence and access. A recognized scholar, she co-edited Teaching Gloria E. Anzaldúa: Pedagogy and Practice for Our Classrooms and Communities (University of Arizona Press) and has published extensively on culturally relevant and decolonial pedagogies. Her work focuses on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting first-generation and Latinx students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Elaine Maimon is a Founding Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum. Early in her career at Beaver College (now Arcadia University), which has named a writing prize in her honor, she organized the faculty from the grassroots to participate in one of the nation’s first writing-across-the-curriculum programs, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. A founding executive board member of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), she has directed national institutes to disseminate WAC principles. Her commitment to new ways of understanding writing and thinking brought her to the position of Associate Dean of the College at Brown University and then Dean of Experimental Programs at Queens College (CUNY). For 24 years, in the top administrative positions at Arizona State University West, University of Alaska Anchorage, and Governors State University, she presided over transformative change, inspired by WAC, reallocating resources to support full-time faculty members in first-year composition; advocating for infusion rather than proliferation of courses; and developing navigable pathways from community college to university. Her book, Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation (Stylus 2018) is a roadmap for reform in higher education. Taking her own advice from A Writer’s Resource, she is a regular columnist for The Philadelphia Citizen.

Dr. Staci M. Perryman-Clark is director of the Institute for Intercultural and Anthropological Studies and professor of English and African American Studies at Western Michigan University. She served as the 2023 Chair for the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and has received numerous awards for scholarship, research, and diversity and inclusion. Her co-edited book (with Collin Craig), Black Perspectives on Writing Program Administration: From the Margins to the Center, earned the 2020 Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) Best Book Award.

Since childhood, Duane has been interested in how people learn to write. Since his days as an undergraduate, he has been interested in how teachers can help students learn to write. His research interests have evolved throughout his career, and he is now most interested in collaborative writing, audience, portfolio assessment, family history writing, and professional development for graduate students. He loves to make connections among disciplines, which means that he can draw on many fields in his scholarship—rhetorical theory, composition theory, literary theory, linguistics, psychology, sociology, feminism, anthropology. Because his interest in collaborative writing is more than an abstraction, he has co-authored most of his so books, chapters, journal articles and conference papers. Collaborating with students is especially exciting for him. He has served as dean of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts; dean of University College; vice provost of the Polytechnic campus, faculty head of Interdisciplinary Studies; faculty head of Humanities and Arts; director of composition; co-director of the graduate program in Rhetoric, Composition, and Linguistics; director of the Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence; and president of the University Senate. He has served as secretary of the Conference on College Composition and Communication and president of the Council of Writing Program Administrators.

Elizabeth Wardle has studied and taught writing and directed writing programs for over 20 years. She is currently a University Distinguished Professor as well as the Roger and Joyce Howe Distinguished Professor of Written Communication at Miami University (Ohio), where she has served as the Director of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence since 2016. She regularly speaks and gives workshops for both academic and professional audiences on writing-related topics, effective teaching practices, threshold concepts, and how to make deep change with the sensemaking method. She is also the author or co-author of numerous books and articles about writing, including: Writing about Writing (a first-year composition textbook used at over 400 colleges and universities in the US and Canada), Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies, Writing Expertise: A Research-Based Approach to Writing and Learning Across Disciplines, and Changing Conceptions, Changing Practices: Innovating Teaching Across Disciplines. Her most recent book is Writing Rediscovered: Nine Concepts to Transform Your Relationship With Writing. She has received numerous awards for her scholarship, including for outstanding scholarship in writing program administration, best article of the year in the teaching of technical and scientific communication, and outstanding contribution to the discipline of writing studies.