Jon Saphier is the founder of Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (RBT), a professional development organization dedicated to improving teaching and learning. In addition to The Skillful Teacher, Dr. Saphier is the author of several other books and articles on teaching, leadership, and school improvement, including John Adams’ Promise: How to Have Good Schools for All Our Children Not Just Some (2005). Dr. Saphier devotes his time to long-term, in-depth, systemic change projects in selected districts. A masterful teacher, he conducts workshops, coaching sessions, and delivers keynotes that bring to life the principles and strategies described in The Skillful Teacher. In addition, Dr. Saphier is passionate about, and active in, public policy reform to promote the professionalization of teaching and leadership. Dr. Saphier has also served as a school administrator, staff developer, and teacher (K–12). In the last twenty-five years, he has coached over a thousand principals in instructional leadership and guided three large systemic school improvement projects.

Mary Ann Haley-Speca is a founding consultant and former director of training with Research for Better Teaching, Inc. During her twenty-three-year tenure with the organization, Ms. Haley-Speca has worked with teachers and administrators in urban, suburban, and rural public school districts and private institutions throughout the world, focusing on the study of instruction, school, and organizational culture; coaching, supervision, and evaluation practices; and professional development planning. She is the coauthor of two other popular RBT publications: Activators and Summarizers. She has served as a classroom teacher, staff developer, and program supervisor in the Hudson and Concord, Massachusetts, public schools. She is currently working as a full-time consultant with RBT on long-term projects in several urban and suburban school districts throughout the United States.

Robert Gower recently retired as a professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he helped develop the doctoral program in Leadership in Schooling. He is still active teaching online courses for the university. Bob’s distinguished career includes being an elementary teacher, a principal, a researcher, a pioneer in the study of teaching, and a standout instructor and mentor for generations of graduate students. In 2007, he received the Faculty Excellence & Service Award and was recognized as a 2007 Honors Fellow by the University of Massachusetts.