Devon Brenner transplanted from Michigan to Mississippi over 25 years ago. She is director of the Social Science Research Center, coordinator of Rural Education Research and Initiatives, and professor of teacher education at Mississippi State University, where she engages in research that focuses on rural education policy and practice.

Jayne Downey is a professor at Montana State University and directs the Center for Research on Rural Education. Born and raised on a farm on the prairies, her research and service are dedicated to working with and for rural schools and communities around the world.

Karen Eppley is a first-generation college graduate, former rural K-12 student and rural fifth-grade teacher in Northern Appalachia. She currently is an associate professor of rural education at Kansas State University, where she directs the Rural Education Center.

Ann K. Schulte grew up in Yankton, South Dakota, where she was a teacher and high school debate coach for several years in nearby small towns. She has retired from California State University, Chico, after 24 years where she prepared teachers and mentored first-generation college students like herself.

Amy Price Azano is a first-generation college student and eighth-generation Appalachian from Luray, Virginia. She is a professor of rural education and the founding director of the Center for Rural Education at Virginia Tech, where her scholarship focuses on educational equity for rural learners.