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Dr. Gary Wellbrock is an early elementary educator at a dual-language (American Sign Language and English) school in New York City. He teaches deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing children from diverse backgrounds. He holds a master's degree from Columbia University Teachers College and later became a licensed reading specialist due, in part, to his work with the Hello Friend Foundation. Gary earned his doctoral degree from the Language, Literacy and Learning program at Fordham University.

Sheila Esshaki is an English and English as a Second Language high school teacher in the metropolitan Detroit area. She has taught in high schools in Caracas, Venezuela; Cairo, Egypt; and Ankara, Turkey. She is a first-generation Arab American who speaks fluent Arabic and understands some of her native Chaldean (Aramaic). Her bicultural background, along with her experiences, give energy to her passion for supporting respect for and celebration of diversity.

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.

Murali is the Hindu American Foundation’s director of education and curriculum reform. Balaji works on empowering educators in culturally competent pedagogical approaches. He also serves as an advisor to numerous organizations around the country in promoting religious literacy and civic engagement. Balaji is the author of several books, including The Professor and The Pupil, and the co-editor of the seminal anthologies Desi Rap and Global Masculinities and Manhood.

Mica Pollock, an anthropologist of education, studies how youth and adults struggle daily to discuss and address issues of racial difference, discrimination, and fairness in school and community settings. Her first book, Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School explores the question: when it is helpful, and when is it harmful, to talk about racial patterns in schools? Her new book, Because of Race: How Americans Debate Harm and Opportunity in Our Schools, builds on her experience working in the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, where she investigated and