Kathleen M. Budge combines 26 years of experience as a teacher and administrator with over a decade of work dedicated to bridging the gap between the university and the teaching profession. She is an associate professor of Educational Leadership at Boise State University, where her research focuses on poverty, rural education, school improvement, and leadership development.

Budge is coauthor of the award-winning book Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools. She has conducted presentations at international, national, and state conferences and webinars, podcasts, and symposiums on the topics of poverty and the whole child. Her consultancies include state departments, boards of education, state and regional service providers, and schools in 15 U.S. states and 3 nations.

William Parrett has received international recognition for his work in school improvement related to children and adolescents who live in poverty. He is Director Emeritus at Boise State University Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies.

He has worked to improve the educational achievement of all children and youth, particularly those less advantaged. As director of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies, Parrett coordinated funded projects and school improvement initiatives that exceed $5 million a year.

He has coauthored 12 books; 3 of which are bestsellers, including Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools. Written with Kathleen Budge, it guides lasting improvement and student success in high-poverty schools.