Ana G. Valenzuela-Zapata is recognized in Mexico and the United States as the foremost botanical and horticultural expert on agaves used in the tequila industry. A professor at the Universidad de Guadalajara, she is author of the Spanish-language book El Agave Tequilero.

Gary Paul Nabhan has done field research on agave conservation and use for a quarter century in the United States and Mexico, and his sixteen previous books include the John Burroughs Medal winner Gathering the Desert. He is Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University.