Russell Swanson was born and raised in Arkansas City, Kansas. Russell’s mom was an educator for over 30 years at the elementary level. Although initially pursuing a career in music, Russell transitioned to elementary education after a great experience in a kindergarten class while attending Emporia State University. Russell completed his BSE in 2014 and began teaching 6th-grade science at Emporia Middle School. His love for the outdoors and understanding of the natural world was embedded into every unit of instruction, and highlights from that time include having 6th graders catch “lunker” largemouth bass out of one of the smallest ponds imaginable on the school campus during lessons on “predator-prey relationships.”

After completing his MS in Curriculum and Instruction in 2018, Russell began teaching as an adjunct instructor and then a full-time instructor at ESU while working toward his PhD from Kansas State University. Russell Completed his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from KSU in 2023 with an emphasis in science education. He now works teaching undergraduate and graduate science methods courses in the teacher preparation programs at Emporia State and is the Program Lead for the MS in Elementary Education, and the Master of Education in Teaching program within ESU’s Teachers College.

Todd Roberts teaches method courses along with his role as BEST Advisor and Site Director, and PDS Supervisor in El Dorado and Andover.

He earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Emporia State University in 2008. Roberts worked as a graduate assistant in Elementary Advising in 2009-10 while getting his master's in elementary subject matter.

After graduating, he taught one year at Lowther North Intermediate School in Emporia. Roberts and his family then moved to Derby, Kansas where he taught third grade for four years in an open-concept classroom at Tanglewood Elementary. He also earned a second master's degree in educational leadership from Wichita State University.