Hedy N. Chang is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit initiative Attendance Works, which advances student success by reducing chronic absence.

Shadae Thomas Harris, previously the chief engagement officer at Richmond Public Schools, leads Groundwork Consulting, where she assists school districts in developing engagement systems that center families. She is also a distinguished professor in residence at Virginia State University and the founding faculty member of the VSU Engagement Institute.

Luis Eladio Torres, president of the New York City Elementary School Principals Association, has been a principal in New York City for over 18 years. After serving in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, Torres earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from City College, a master's degree in education from Mercy College, and an advanced degree in administration from Hunter College.

Torres then entered the NYC Leadership Academy, after which he was given the responsibility of leading C.S. 55. Torres and his team turned C.S. 55—once the lowest-performing school in New York City, located in the Morrisania housing projects in the Bronx—into a model school. Torres has raised millions of dollars for C.S. 55 and surrounding schools, acting as his school’s spokesperson, publicist, and cheerleader.