Amy R. Hurd, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in recreation management, leadership, and marketing. Hurd received her PhD in leisure behavior from Indiana University in 2001. Her research interests focus on management in parks and recreation with specific regard to management competencies.

Hurd has worked in public-sector parks and recreation as a marketing director for the Champaign Park District in Champaign, Illinois. She has also served on the National Recreation and Park Association's American Park and Recreation Society board. She has coauthored Kraus’ Recreation and Lesiure in Modern Society, the Official Study Guide for the Certified Park and Recreation Professional Examination, and Leisure Services Management.

In her free time, Hurd enjoys biking, kayaking, and hiking. She lives in Normal, Illinois.

Denise M. Anderson, PhD, recevied her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000. Anderson is currently an associate professor in the department of parks, recreation, and tourism management at Clemson University in South Carolina, where she teaches courses in community recreation and youth development. She also serves as curriculum coordinator for community recreation, sport, and camp management and as chair of the graduate student committee. In 2008 she was named Clemson’s Outstanding Woman Faculty Member.

Anderson worked for four years at the Champaign Park District in Champaign, Illinois. She has also served on the board of the National Recreation and Park Association’s Society of Park and Recreation Educators.

Anderson lives in Clemson, South Carolina, with her husband, Dan, and her son, Hayden. She enjoys baking, hiking, and boating with her family.

Brent A. Beggs, PhD, is an associate professor and director of the recreation and park administration program at Illinois State University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in facility design, management of sport and recreation agencies, research methods, and trends. Beggs earned his BS and MS in recreation from Southern Illinois University and completed his PhD in leisure behavior at Indiana University.

Before teaching at Illinois State, Beggs served as a lecturer and internship coordinator for the department of recreation, park, and tourism studies at Indiana University and worked for public recreation agencies in the states of Illinois and Missouri. He serves on multiple editorial boards and coauthored Recreation Facility Management and Mastering the Job Search Process in Recreation and Leisure Services.

Beggs resides in Bloomington, Illinois, with his wife, Jeri, and children Brendan and Sydney. He enjoys coaching youth sports and playing golf in his free time.

Deborah A. Garrahy, PhD, has been teaching since 1986. Her professional background includes teaching elementary and adapted physical education in the public schools of Ohio and serving as a faculty member in physical education teacher education at Indiana University. Garrahy is an associate professor in the school of kinesiology and recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, specializing in physical education teacher education. She teaches courses in motor development, adapted physical education, and elementary physical education methods.

Garrahy earned her BS degree from Queens College of the City University of New York (physical education, 1985) and both her MS (adapted physical education, 1986) and PhD (curriculum and instruction, 1998) from Indiana University. In her free time she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and biking.