D. Ray Reutzel is a Distinguished Senior Research Fellow in the Center for the School of the Future at Utah State University and an emeritus faculty member and former Dean of the College of Education at the University of Wyoming. He held the Emma Eccles Jones Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Early Childhood Education at Utah State University for 14 years. He is the author of more than 260 published works and has received more than 22 million dollars in external funding. He is the past Editor of - Literacy Research and Instruction, The Reading Teacher, and is the current Executive Editor for ELA of the Journal of Educational Research. He received the 1999 A.B. Herr Award, the 2013 Laureate Award and served as President of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) from 2006- 2007. Ray was presented the John C. Manning Public School Service Award by the International Reading Association (ILA) in 2007. He has served as a member of the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the Literacy Researchers Association (LRA) Board of Directors. Dr. Reutzel is an elected member of the Reading Hall of Fame and served as its President from 2017-2019. In 2019, he received the William S. Gray Citation of Merit from the International Literacy Association. He currently serves as a member of the Utah Science of Reading Expert Panel.