Joanne Hendrick is professor emerita of early childhood education from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to raising four children of her own, her practical experience includes working with children at the Stanford Speech and Hearing Clinic, directing a parent-child workshop, working in Head Start, and chairing the early childhood areas at Santa Barbara City College and the University of Oklahoma. She holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in disorders of speech and hearing and graduate degrees from the University of California in counseling and early childhood education. She is a past president of the California Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Patricia Weissman began her early childhood career as a family care provider for two infants. Having found her calling, she studied early childhood education in the master''s program at San Francisco State University and received a doctorate of education from the University of San Francisco. During the past 25 years, she has worked as an infant caregiver, a preprimary teacher, a center director, a Child Development Associate (CDA) advisor, a professor of early childhood education, and a research associate in early childhood development at the Merrill-Palmer Institute of Wayne State University. She was the founding editor of the journalInnovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange. Dr. Weissman also designed and consulted on the production of the Public Broadcasting Service video series titledThe Whole Child: A Caregiver''s Guide to the First Five Years.