Heather Bailey has a Ph.D. in modern European history from the University of Minnesota and has been teaching modern European and Russian History courses at UIS since 2002. Her research focuses on the intellectual, cultural, and diplomatic relations between France and Russia in the nineteenth century. She has published extensively on negative attitudes about Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church in western European discourses.

Brandon Barclay Derman is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, in the School of Integrated Science, Sustainability and Public Health, part of the College of Health, Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Springfield. Dr. Derman received his Ph.D. in Geography (with additional specialization in Sociolegal Studies) from the University of Washington. Professor Derman specializes in environmental politics, law, policy and justice, with an emphasis on climate change.