Nandita Gurjar, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at Rhode Island College, Providence, RI. Before her current position, she was an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Northern Iowa in the Literacy division. While at UNI, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy, particularly Methods of Teaching Early Literacy, for several years. Nandita led America Reads program and was an Iowa Reading Research advisory council member. She co-chairs Early Childhood Education SIG at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education.
Sohyun “Soh (pronounced as so)” Meacham, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research interests include teachers’ language use, young children’s oral language development in the classroom, and representations of minoritized children in picturebooks. With this research background, she teaches early literacy courses. She has been the state secretary of Iowa Reading Association since 2021.
Constance Beecher, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Literacy in the School of Education at Iowa State University. She an Early Intervention researcher and educator, with an emphasis on language and literacy development. Her research is centered in the context of community-based research, and involves developing, evaluating, and disseminating interventions for young children that can be implemented by or for parents, teachers and caregivers in community settings.