Charles E. Hurst is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the College of Wooster in Ohio. His work focuses on issues of social status, comparative poverty and inequality, and the uses of theory in understanding contemporary problems. Recently these interests also include studies of status in Amish communities in Ohio.

Heather M. Fitz Gibbon is Professor of Sociology and Chair of Urban Studies at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Her published research focuses on definitions of motherhood within the welfare system and on child care systems. She has also been an active community-based researcher, evaluating anti-poverty and family literacy community programs.

Anne M. Nurse is Professor of Sociology at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Author of two books and multiple articles on juvenile incarceration and its impact on families and communities, she is an expert on inequality and the criminal justice system. She also teaches courses in statistics, criminology, and research methods.