Sharon F. Rallis is Dwight W. Allen Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and Reform at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is also Director of the Center for Education Policy. Dr. Rallis has coauthored 10 books, including several on leadership. Her interests include research and evaluation methodology, ethical practice in research and evaluation, education policy and leadership, and school reform. A past president of the American Evaluation Association, Dr. Rallis has been involved with education and evaluation for over three decades as a teacher, counselor, principal, researcher, program evaluator, director of a major federal school reform initiative, and an elected school board member.
 
Gretchen B. Rossman is Chair of the Department of Educational Policy, Research and Administration and Professor of International Education at the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her work focuses on qualitative research design and methods, mixed methods monitoring and evaluation, and inquiry in education, including the analysis and evaluation of educational reform initiatives both in the United States and internationally. She has coauthored nine books, including the major qualitative research texts Learning in the Field (with Sharon F. Rallis) and Designing Qualitative Research (with Catherine Marshall).