Dra. Gladys Yacely Aponte is a Kiskeyana-New Yorker, a bilingual teacher educator, and a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Children's Equity Project. Her work focuses on disrupting oppressive language ideologies and creating more liberatory schooling experiences for emergent bilingual children. Gladys was previously a dual language bilingual elementary school teacher, and her translanguaging classroom practices are featured in CUNY-NYSIEB videos.

Carlos A. LópezLeiva is an Associate Professor of Bilingual and Mathematics Education in the Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico. His work highlights equitable and relational intra-actions in teaching and learning (in- and out-side of school) ecologies through the decolonization of language uses and ideologies, task designs, what we notice and what counts as mathematics; more specifically he aims at promoting and co-nurturing members’ awareness and responsiveness of their participation during meaning making processes. 

Dr. Izquierdo, a linguist with a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and Bilingual Education from Georgetown University, has 17 years of leadership in bilingual education. She was a founding principal of the Oyster Bilingual ES, a pioneering dual language school, and now serves as a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her extensive experience bridges theory and practice, shaping innovative dual language programs. Her recent publications include Dual Language Education: Teaching and Leading Through Two Languages (2019) and contributions to The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education (2023).

William Estrada is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UIC School of Art & Art History and a teaching artist at Telpochalli Elementary. His art and teaching focus on collaborative discourse, critically examining public and private spaces through engagement with images, texts, and politics. Recognized with numerous awards, including the 2023-2024 Imagine Just Fellowship and 3Arts Next Level Award, he develops community-based projects that explore power, race, and cultural access. Through sustained collaborations, he works toward a more equitable collective future.