Acknowledgments

I am grateful that Contemporary Families: An Equity Lens was included in the Open Oregon Educational Resources federal grant program to build multiple texts in the Human Development Family Sciences (HDFS) field. The leadership and support of Amy Hofer, Micheala Willi-Hooper, Veronica Vold, Phoebe Daurio, Michelle Culley, Matthew DeCarlo, Jonathan Poritz, Kimberly Puttman, Stephanie Lenox, Jenn Gardner, and the entire Open Oregon Educational Resources team has expanded and deepened the second edition of this text.

Students are at the core of this text. Alexis, Amy, Carla, Cassie, Christopher, Hannah, Jessica, Kate, Katie, Nyssa, Ruta, Shonna, and Wesley, the foundational student author group that leaped into the unknown, entered the liminal space between consumership and authorship of a college textbook. Current students dig deep into their own family experiences, even painful ones, to develop the themes and stories integrated into the text and in the Contemporary Families Open Pedagogy Portfolio. They take risks. They grow in their scholarship and build the foundation of this book. They make a difference in the experience of future learners.

The first edition was created on a much smaller budget but with many student, professional, and volunteer hours. Funding from Linn-Benton Community College (Albany, Oregon) and from Open Oregon Educational Resources provided the seeds, and many individuals contributed. My deepest gratitude goes to Steve Smith, Katie Winder, Nana Osei-Kofi, Chessie Alberti, Meg Roland, Isabelle Havet, Jane Sandberg, Terese Jones, Deron Carter, Karelia Stetz-Waters, Mark Weiss, Jane Waite, Bruce E. Thomson, Margarita Casas, Fay Stetz-Waters, Oriana Mulatero Ferraro, Andrew Douglas Campbell, Shelly Dermody, Bobbi Hall, and Lauren Visconti who contributed feedback and resources. Michaela Willi-Hooper and Lauren Antrosiglio volunteered leadership and skills that turned the Google documents into an accurate and eye-pleasing pressbook.

Thank you to Deron Carter and Colleen Sanders, who continue to foster the creativity and courage it takes to implement open pedagogy. They have supported the ongoing work of having students contribute to this textbook and the Contemporary Families Open Pedagogy Portfolio.

I appreciate the incredible ongoing support from my friends and family, who have not wavered during this five-year journey. Karelia Stetz-Waters continues to lend not only her friendship but also her professional expertise and insights into the writing process. And my partner, Liz Baker, continues to support this work.