Thomas Rendon has worked in the early childhood education field for more than 25 years as a trainer and policy maker. He served as the Head Start State Collaboration Office Coordinator with the Iowa Department of Education for 18 years. Tom has a BS in Speech from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Iowa and is working on a PhD from Kent State University.

Zachary Stier is the director of children's services at Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa. He develops and facilitates workshops for librarians, early childhood providers, and families through his company, Mr. Z and 2 Company, LLC. He is an adjunct lecturer for the University of Illinois Champaign iSchool graduate program, teaching early literacy. He holds a Masters of Library and Information Science from Drexel University, a Masters of Early Childhood Education from Concordia Portland, postgraduate studies in Early Childhood from Erikson Institute, and a Doctorate in Education from Concordia Chicago.