Martha Ruddell is Professor of Education and a member of the Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education department at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. In addition to this text, Dr. Ruddell is the co-editor of Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, and has published numerous articles for professional journals, including Reading Online. Dr. Ruddell is Past President of the National Reading Conference, and in 1996 she was elected to membership in the California Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame.