About Dr. Amelia Lopez: Dr. Lopez is currently an assistant professor at Millersville University.  She is a national, state, and regional presenter on the topic of appropriate assessment practices for English Language Learners and the applications of RTI to the education of English Language Learners.  Her research interests include assessment and classification of language minority children, the achievement of language minority children, and the enhancement of achievement through use of home-school interventions.  Her other interests include behavioral assessment and the use of behavioral assessment tools with culturally diverse children.

About Dr. Sylvia Linan-Thompson: Dr. Linan-Thompson is the associate director of the National Research and Development Center on English Language Learners that is examining the effect of instructional practices that enhance vocabulary and comprehension for middle school English Language Learners in content areas.  Dr. Linan-Thompson is currently principle investigator of a study examining the academic language development of second and third grade students, and co-principal investigator of studies examining the effect of explicit literacy instruction as students transition from Spanish to English instruction, and the effect of explicit vocabulary instruction on children's academic language.  She has developed and examined reading interventions for struggling readers who are monolingual English speakers, English Language Learners and bilingual students acquiring Spanish literacy.  Additionally, she has worked in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe on various projects related to literacy instruction and teacher professional development.  She has authored articles, chapters and books on these topics and has developed instructional guides.

About Dr. Samuel O. Ortiz: Dr. Ortiz is Associate Professor of Psychology and former Director of the School Psychology Program at St. John's University, Queens, New York.  He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California and completed postdoctoral training in Bilingual School Psychology at San Diego State University, where he also obtained certification as a school psychologist.  In addition, he has served as Visiting Professor and Research Fellow at Nagoya University in Japan and was recently elected Vice President for Professional Affairs of Division 16 of APA beginning January 2003.  Dr. Ortiz trains and consults nationally and internationally on topics ranging from non-discriminatory assessment to contemporary evaluation of learning disabilities.  He combines practical and research based experience with specialized education and training in working with culturally and linguistically diverse children and parents.  Dr. Ortiz is bilingual (Spanish) and bicultural (Puerto Rican).