M. Susan Burns, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, George Mason University, Graduate School of Education, MS 4B3, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.

Dr. Burns is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at George Mason University. Her research centers on the development and learning of young children (birth through Grade 3). Her work includes all children: those with diverse abilities (children with disabilities), those living in poverty, and those from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Of particular interest to Dr. Burns are language and early literacy development. She has numerous publications presenting her research in these areas. A former employee at the National Research Council, she is a coeditor of Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, and Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success, all publications of the National Academy Press of the National Academies of Science. She earned her Ph.D. degree in psychology at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.