Kenneth Leithwood is professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is chair of the American Education Research Association's Leadership and Administration division; co-editor of the journal Leadership and Policy in Schools; president of the Canadian Educational Leadership Network; and president of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies.

Alma Harris first trained as a secondary school teacher and taught in a number of challenging schools. She is the director of the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the Institute of Education, London. Her research work focuses on organizational change and development. She is internationally known for her work on school improvement, particularly on improving schools in challenging circumstances.

Tiiu Strauss is a project director working with Kenneth Leithwood in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She has published in the areas of leadership problem solving, distributed leadership, and leadership in turnaround schools.