A veteran early childhood teacher of 24 years, Beth taught for 18 years in a rural school and six years in an urban setting at DeVries's Freeburg Early Childhood Program. In the process, she developed and piloted constructivist early childhood curriculum focusing on early STEM. Beth holds a master’s degree in literacy and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction. She currently serves as the Director of the Iowa Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education for the state of Iowa where she continues to research creativity within early STEM experiences, and design professional learning in early STEM. VanMeeteren publishes regularly in practitioner journals and has authored two chapters in the 2016 Teachers College Press publication, STEM Learning with Young Children: Inquiry Teaching with Ramps and Pathways, a chapter in Lyn English and Tamara Moore's Springer publication, Early Engineering Learning and is a co-author of a chapter in the upcoming Handbook of STEM Education Research. She has been featured in webinars for the National Academy of Engineering, Applied Engineering Management, and for Engagement Strategies. 

Dr. Mary Crnobori is the Coordinator of Trauma-Informed Schools for Metro Nashville Public Schools. She holds a PhD in Special Education from Vanderbilt University and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She is dedicated to equipping educators with information and strategies they need to promote compassionate school environments that support healthy development and school success for all. From a collective impact lens, she developed and drives implementation of a system-wide approach to raising awareness about the impacts of childhood adversity on school success and lifelong health and wellness; and guides and supports implementation of whole-school and individualized trauma-informed school practices that are healing centered and foster resilience and empowerment. Dr. Crnobori has extensive experience with classroom teaching, district administration, speaking, consulting, research, and behavior analysis. She has co-authored multiple journal articles and book chapters and the book Managing Challenging Behaviors in Schools: Research-Based Strategies That Work, and has given a TEDx talk about trauma-informed schools. Most importantly, she gets her greatest joy from her role as parent of two sons who attend public schools.