Charlotte Danielson is the founder and a board member of The Danielson Group. She began her career more than 50 years ago as a teacher in a 1st and 2nd grade classroom in Washington, DC. After 25 years as a teacher, curriculum director, staff development director, and assessment designer, she wrote the first edition of Enhancing Professional Practice. Danielson has published widely on the use of the Framework for Teaching and related aspects of the teaching profession and instructional practice.

A graduate of Cornell University (history), Oxford University (philosophy, politics, and economics) and Rutgers University (educational administration and supervision), she has taught kindergartners through university students and has worked as a curriculum director and staff development director.

Jim S. Furman began his career as a middle school English teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana, later teaching high school English in Denver, Colorado, and working as a professor of education in Delaware and New Orleans. He has coached future, novice, and veteran K–12 teachers in literacy, social studies, math, and science instruction; supported school leaders in urban schools to build and improve systems of teacher professional development; redesigned teacher preparation programs, field experiences, and assessments; and conducted research focused on teacher preparation and adolescent literacy. Furman served as the executive director of the Danielson Group from 2018 to 2024.

Lee Kappes is the chief executive officer of the Danielson Group. Prior to her appointment in May 2024, she served as the organization’s founding director of program development, growth and impact. During her 18 years in the classroom, Kappes taught kindergarten and grades 2–6, serving six years as a union president. She continued her career in public education as a staff developer, school leader, coach, mentor, and senior academic leader in an urban school district. She went on to serve as an external partner to schools, districts, and state education agencies, providing instructional leadership and strategy guidance, instructional coaching, and developmental support for teacher-centered professional learning systems.