Dr. Karen Zaino is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Inquiry/Urban Cohort at Miami University of Ohio. Her research focuses on teacher education, youth participatory action research, and intergenerational organizing for educational justice in urban contexts. Dr. Zaino's work has been published in journals such as Teachers College Record, Educational Policy, Peabody Journal of Education, and  Equity & Excellence in Education. Prior to earning her PhD in Urban Education from the Graduate Center, CUNY, she was a high school English teacher for 12 years.

Jerusha Conner, Ph.D. is Professor of Education at Villanova University, where she directs the graduate program in education. Her research focuses on youth activism and organizing, student engagement, and student voice. She has authored more than 60 journal articles and book chapters, The New Student Activists (2020), and opinion pieces in such outlets as The Hill, The Conversation, and US News and World Report. She has served as editor or co-editor of several collections, including most recently: Handbook on Youth Activism (Edward Elgar, 2024); The Bloomsbury Handbook of Student Voice in Higher Education (Bloomsbury, 2023); and Political Activism in Post-secondary Contexts, (Routledge, 2022). Dr. Conner’s research has been supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Surdna Foundation, among others. She is a member of the ACLU’s Youth Activism Research Collaborative. A former high school English teacher, Dr. Conner earned her PhD from Stanford Graduate School of Education and her BA from Princeton University.