Shayla Hammons was born and raised in Little Rock, AR. She graduated from John L. McClellan High School, class of 2002, and continued her education at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She graduated from there with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and a master's degree in School Counseling. After receiving her BSE degree in December 2007, she started her first teaching job at Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Little Rock, AR where she taught 3rd grade for five years. She also taught 4th grade at Preston & Florence Mattison Elementary before becoming a school counselor. After receiving her masters degree in 2010, she recognized that building camaraderie was a notable strength she possessed in her classroom culture with her students. She currently serves as a school counselor at Simon Middle School. She contributes her journey and career path to her faith in God and her belief that ALL students deserve a fair chance at a quality education. Shayla has been married to her husband Shannon for 14 years and together they have two children, Shyanne and SJ.

Dwight Williams graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in Middle Level Education and a master's degree in advanced study in Teacher Leadership. After receiving his BSE degree in Middle Level Education in May 2017, he started his first teaching job at Simon Middle School in Conway, Arkansas. There, he is currently teaching sixth and seventh grade math. After serving a career in the military, he used his military experiences and attributes to motivate and inspire his students to embrace and have fun learning mathematics. During his time at Simon Middle School, his students nominated him for teacher of the week.