Richard Funderburg is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield. Funderburg’s research centers on the ability and limitations of state and local economic development policy to entice private businesses to locate, start up, or expand within the region and the fiscal and budget consequences of public efforts.

Amanda Lewis' research focuses on how race shapes educational opportunities and how our ideas about race get negotiated in everyday life. She is the author of several books including (with John Diamond) Despite the Best Intentions: Why racial inequality persists in good schools (Oxford, 2015) and Race in the Schoolyard: Negotiating the Color-line in Classrooms and Communities (2003).

Kathleen M. Sheridan is an associate professor in the department of Educational Psychology. Some of her research interests include early math literacy, professional development for early childhood teachers and caregivers, online learning and course development in higher education, and teacher presence in online courses. Sheridan has been published in leading academic journals, delivered keynote speeches, and has presented her work at workshops and at national and international conferences. She teaches courses in assessment, child development and constructivist approaches to development.

Rachel Weber is a professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she conducts research in economic development, real estate, and public finance. She has expertise in the areas of urban and regional economic development, public finance, municipal government law, planning theory, andreal estate. She has conducted extensive research on the impact of changes in capital markets on urban economies and the built environment.