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Katy Swalwell, PhD, is an assistant professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Her research interests focus on social justice pedagogy in communities of privilege, the teaching of controversial issues in elementary social studies curricula, and the politics of teaching. She is also the author of the upcoming book, Educating Activist Allies: Social Justice Pedagogy with the Suburban and Urban Elite (Routledge, 2013).

Marguerite Rucker is a mother, teacher and cheerleader. After 20 years of teaching, she currently teaches sixth grade. Her master’s degree is in educational leadership. She also opened a Performing Arts Academy with her best friend and trained several successful child actors and dancers who have appeared in TV shows and commercials. She is the proud mother of two high school children and the wife of a school psychologist.

Jacqueline Yahn is from the Ohio Valley, part of the greater Appalachian region. She earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from West Liberty State College and a master’s degree from Ohio State University. She currently teaches seventh-grade language arts in Central Ohio and is a doctoral student at Ohio University where she is pursuing a degree in educational administration with a focus on rural and Appalachian education.

Marvin Lynn is Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Maryland at College Park where he founded and currently heads a graduate program in Minority & Urban Education. Having published in several well-respected academic journals, including Teachers College Record, Educational Theory, Qualitative Studies in Education, Equity & Excellence in Education, Urban Education, Educational Philosophy and Theory & Review of Research in Education, he has emerged as one of the leaders of the field of critical race studies in education. He wrote a very popular

Lydia Wright is a law fellow in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi office. Before joining the SPLC, Lydia graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and clerked for a federal judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana. She also taught sixth-grade language arts in rural New Mexico and worked with refugee children as a Fulbright fellow in Jordan. Lydia is passionate about educational equity and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

Benjamin is the Religious Literacy Specialist with the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute. He has developed religious literacy programs for public schools, universities, U.S. government organizations, and private foundations and has delivered presentations on religion at universities and nonprofits in the U.S. and abroad. Marcus is a contributing author in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Religion and American Education, where he writes about the importance of religious literacy education.

Kate Shuster, Ph.D., is an education researcher and author based in Montgomery, Alabama. Her work as project director for Teaching Tolerance’s Teaching Hard History initiative has included the following: researching for and writing the widely cited report Teaching Hard History: American Slavery; leading a team of experts to write and revise a suite of innovative K–12 curricular resources; producing the Teaching Hard History podcast; and creating and managing partnerships with related interpretive centers and institutions. Kate is also the author and researcher of Teaching Tolerance’s Teaching

Jarah Botello brings more than 14 years of education experience to her role as a teaching and learning specialist for Teaching Tolerance. After earning her B.A. in English and theater from Howard Payne University, Botello began her career as an actress and theater instructor in Denver. She moved to Selma, Alabama, in 2007, where she taught high school and college English and drama for eight years. In Selma, she also co-founded New Expressions, an art program for students of all ages that centers on community service, activism and self-expression. Botello loves all things creative and enjoys