Terry L. Shepherd has been a department head and associate professor of special education at Indiana University South Bend since 2007. Prior to that, he was an associate professor of special education at Texas A&M International University, a teacher for children with emotional and behavior disorders in the public schools, and a teacher at a residential treatment center for troubled teenagers. He received his EdD in special education at Ball State University. He has published numerous professional papers in emotional and behavior disorders, international special education, and teacher education. He is the author of Working with Students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders: Characteristics… and Teaching Strategies (Pearson-Merrill, 2010), and Enthusiasm, humor, and optimism in R. L. Smith & D. Skarbek (Eds.), Professional Teacher Dispositions: Additions to the Mainstream, (R & L Education, 2013). He has been a member of the Council for Exceptional Children since 1998. His hobbies include songwriting, model building, genealogy, and American history.
Diana Linn is associate professor of special education and department chair at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas.� Prior to that, she was a teacher in general education and special education classrooms in Mexico and South Texas.� Dr. Linn received her Ph. D. from Texas A&M University-College Station.� She has several published articles concerning the disproportionality of English language learners in special education and the use of cultural autobiographies in preservice teacher education programs.� She is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Association for Multicultural Education.