Margo Gottlieb, Ph.D., is Director, Assessment and Evaluation, for the Illinois Resource Center and Lead Developer for World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Starting her career as an inner city ESL and bilingual teacher in Chicago, she has since had the opportunity to provide technical assistance and professional development to school districts, states, publishers, governments, universities, and organizations. Two highlights of her career have been the appointment to U.S. Department of Education's Inaugural National Technical Advisory Council and serving as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Assessment and Evaluation in Santiago, Chile. Margo's publications span over 60 articles, monographs, chapters, technical reports, and handbooks. Her latest books include: Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Definitions and Contexts (with G, Ernst-Slavit, 2014), a foundational book for a series on Promoting Content and Language Learning (a compendium of 3 mathematics and 3 English language arts volumes, K-2, 3-5, & 6-8, co-edited with G. Ernst-Slavit, 2014, 2013); Common Language Assessment for English Learners (2012); Paper to Practice: Using the TESOL's English Language Proficiency Standards in PreK-12 Classrooms (with A. Katz & G. Ernst-Slavit, 2009); Assessment and Accountability in Language Education Programs: A Guide for Administrators and Teachers (with D. Nguyen, 2007); and Assessing English Language Learners: Bridges from Language Proficiency to Academic Achievement (2006). Her primary areas of interest are development of standards frameworks and systems, curriculum design highlighting academic language use, and the conceptualization of multiple forms of assessment for linguistically and culturally diverse students.

Gabriela Uro is the Manager for English Language Learner Policy and Research for the Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, D.C. As part of the legislative team, she works on legislative matters relevant to ELs, both with Capitol Hill and the Administration. She is the lead for strategic support teams reviewing EL programs in Council districts. She co-authored, Succeeding with English Language Learners --an influential study that revealed systemic factors contributing to improving ELs achievement in large urban districts. She is the Council's lead for EL issues related to the implementation of the common core in member districts. Prior to joining the Council in 1997, Ms. Uro served as the policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Director of the Office of Bilingual Education (now English Acquisition) in the U.S. Department of Education and was part of the Department’s team for the 1994 ESEA reauthorization. She joined the Clinton Administration in 1994. Prior to working at the federal level, Ms. Uro was an Education Budget Analyst for the California State Legislature Budget Committee and the Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Uro received her M.P.A. from Columbia University with a specialization in education policy and her B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.