John Abbott is president of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, a transnational association of educational researchers and practitioners based in the UK. Following a long career as a teacher and headteacher in England, John became director of Education 2000, spearheading nine community-wide education projects in the UK. He lectures around the world on new understandings about learning and is the author of several books including Learning Makes Sense (1994) and The Child is Father of the Man: How Humans Learn and Why (1999).
Terry Ryan is senior researcher for the 21st Century Learning Initiative. After receiving his Masters Degree in political economy in 1994, he worked with educational reformers and students in Poland, and co-authored a book on Polish history, The Shadows of the Past (2000), with former Solidarity leader Wiktor Kulerski. Ryan lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife and baby daughter.