Gisela Ernst-Slavit received her PhD in Bilingual/ESL Education from the University of Florida, a MS in Educational Research/Intercultural Education from Florida State University and a BS in Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru. Her expertise and background in ethnographic and sociolinguistic work influences both her research and her teaching. She is a Professor at Washington State University Vancouver and Principal Investigator for ELL IMPACT, a federally funded project designed to increase the number of bilingual and ELL teachers in Washington State. Dr. Ernst-Slavit has authored and coauthored over 80 articles/chapters and 11 books, focusing mostly on effective and culturally responsive education for underrepresented and marginalized students, academic language and literacy, and teacher preparation. Her latest book, also with Joy Egbert is entitled, Views from the Inside: Languages, Cultures and Schooling for K-12 Educators. Dr. Ernst-Slavit is a native from Peru who grew up speaking Spanish and German at home and English in School. She has given numerous keynotes and presentations in North and South America, as well as in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.


Joy Egbert is Professor of ELL and Education Technology at Washington State University, Pullman. She earned her MA and PhD at the University of Arizona in Tucson, focusing on higher education teaching and English as a second language. In addition to her community college and adult basic education certifications, she has been certified as a K-12 teacher in Indiana and Idaho in Russian and English language, ESL, and education technology. She has published and presented widely in the areas of teacher education, computer-assisted language learning, and teaching methods, including Fulbright awards to Russia, Turkey, and Macedonia and keynotes and workshops in Taiwan, Singapore, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Afghanistan, and Japan. Her grant work includes developing an online ESL endorsement, studying the use of small robots in elementary classrooms, and working with teachers on professional development. Her focal interest is in language learner task engagement.