Heather Richmond is Chair and Associate Professor in the Education Department at St. Thomas University where she teaches reading, literacy, and special education to pre-service teachers. Dr. Richmond is also Domain Leader (Education) for the Atlantic Metropolis Centre of Excellence. She is the principal investigator for the federally funded Boys' and Girls' Literacy: Closing the Gap project.

In her work as a teacher educator she continues to study community-based literacy programs and models of literacy used in both adult education and public school systems. In her school-based work in literacy, she investigates the impact of curriculum materials and choices on non-mainstream students.

Her PhD is in literacy education. Dr. Richmond's research interests include using narrative forms of inquiry and case study methods to examine the literacies of persons who are placed at risk in our society as well as human rights education.

Cheryl Miles has more than 20 years experience as an educator with School District 18, Fredericton, NB. During the 1999-2001 school years, she served as the Elementary Literacy Mentor for School District 18. She is currently the project manager and a principal researcher for a school based literacy project entitled Boys' and Girls' Literacy: Closing the Gap which has been funded by Human Resource Development Canada/National Literacy Secretariat.

Ms. Miles is also an instructor in the Education Department, St. Thomas University and for the New Brunswick Teachers' Association. She has been working with the New Brunswick Department of Education as a consultant with regard to the learning differences between boys and girls. She will be continuing her research interests through her doctoral programme in education at the University of New Brunswick.