Barbara Bowman is one of three faculty members who founded Erikson Institute in 1966. She has had experience teaching at both preschool and primary levels as well as in colleges and universities. At Erikson Institute, Ms. Bowman teaches courses in early childhood education and administration and supervises practice teachers. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and at universities in the United States and abroad. Her specialty areas are early education, cultural diversity and education of at-risk children. Ms. Bowman has served on numerous professional boards, including the Family Resource Coalition and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, of which she was President (1980-82). She is on the boards of the Great Books Foundation and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and chairs the Committee of Early Childhood Pedagogy for the National Research Council.

Dr. Laura G. Brown is the Director of Research and Curriculum at Little Airplane Productions where she is currently working on a new preschool series to air in 2006 on Nick Jr. She is also Curriculum Director for Discovery Kids' Paz the Penguin and for Noggin's Oobi. Dr. Brown is an educational consultant for Nick Jr. (The Backyardigans, Whoopi's Littleburg, Lazytown, Downward Doghouse, Blues Clues and Little Bill) where she also serves as curriculum consultant in the development department. Other clients include The Walt Disney Company (Baby Einstein and Little Einstein), Mike Young Productions (ToddWorld), Granada Kids (Engie Benjy and Go Baby!), Classic Media and WordWorld. A licensed Psychologist and certified School Psychologist, Dr. Brown had a private practice specializing in learning disorders before working in educational television.

Milton Chen, Ph.D. has been a leading figure in educational media for more than 20 years. He joined the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) as Executive Director in 1998, bringing new leadership to its mission of gathering and disseminating the most innovative models of K-12 teaching and learning in the Digital Age. Before that, he was the founding director of the KQED Center for Education & Lifelong Learning (PBS) in San Francisco, delivering educational services for teachers, parents and community groups in support of public TV programming. He has been a director of research at the Children's Television Workshop in New York, and an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Most recently, Dr. Chen has served as a consultant to Children Now, Educational Development Center, Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education, and Scholastic. His work has been honored by the Congressional Black Caucus, Sesame Workshop, Parents Choice and PBS. He recently received the Fred Rogers Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for contributions to educational media.

Connie Williams Coulianos has worked with young children, their parents and their teachers in New York City and environs for almost twenty years. In her capacity as Director and Master Teacher of the Hollingworth Preschool at Teachers College, Columbia University, she has developed, articulated and implemented a child-responsive approach to the education of preschoolers that has proven effective in supporting children as they strive to realize their full potential. The Hollingworth Preschool is a model program that is visited by educators from around the world.

Connie has provided professional development for teachers in a wide range of settings, served as advisor and consultant for several children's television programs and is most proud of her part in the collaboration that produced Ready, Set, Learn! Long live Paz! Having earned Masters degrees in vocal performance from Indiana University and in early childhood education from Teachers College, Connie combines her training in both areas in the unique approach that has been presented at conferences nationally and abroad. In addition to curriculum design and teacher training, her educational interests include friendship in young children, the impact of expectation on school performance and the role of power play in the formation of values.

Sherryl Browne Graves, Ph.D. is a professor of psychological foundations of education and department chairperson at Hunter College, City University of New York. She has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice from Harvard University. Dr. Graves' research interests focus on children's understanding of racial and ethnic portrayals in mass media, the impact of diversity in the educational process and the use of technology in the classroom. She has served as a consultant to numerous media organizations including Sesame Workshop, WGBH Public Television Station, Lancit Media Productions, the Independent Television Service and the Public Broadcasting Service. Dr. Graves has been an advisory board member for a number of television productions, including, Lancit's Puzzle Place, CTW's Big Bag and Dragon Tales. She currently serves on the board of advisors of the WGBH Arthur series and is a national advisory board member of the PBS Ready to Learn service.

Shane Lopez is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor on the counseling psychology faculty at the University of Kansas where he teaches courses in positive psychology, psychological assessment, and educational leadership. Lopez co-edited Positive Psychological Assessment (APA) and the Handbook of Positive Psychology (Oxford) and co-authored Positive Psychology (Sage). He also is associate editor of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology and a founding editorial board member of the Journal of Positive Psychology. He currently directs Making Hope Happen, which is a skills development program conducted in primary and secondary schools, and the Strengths Mentoring Program, which enhances the personal strengths of college students.

Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D. is a child, adolescent, and general psychiatrist on staff at Children's Hospital, Boston, where he is Director of Special Projects at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center. He is also Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard School of Medicine. Dr. Sparrow is co-author with Dr. T. Berry Brazelton of Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development, the five Brazelton Way Series books on Discipline, Sleep, Crying, Toilet Training and Feeding, and of a weekly New York Times syndicate column, "Families Today." Dr. Sparrow is also the author of numerous scholarly papers published in the United States and Europe. He has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, and Brazil on child and adolescent development. Dr. Sparrow has been called upon by a wide range of print, broadcast, and electronic media, and has served as consultant to the Fox Family television show Brazelton on Parenting and the I Am Your Child Foundation video on Discipline.

Diane Whitehead is the director of Program Development for the National Head Start Association based in Alexandria, Virginia. As the director, she develops and implements programs designed to support NHSA members' needs and enhance the services offered by Head Start. Ms. Whitehead has also worked in early childhood education and family services for more than 20 years in private child care programs, Head Start, the public school system, and community based organizations. She has served in a variety of positions including teacher, home visitation program manager, education specialist and as a member of community service teams serving at-risk children and youth.