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March 31 - April 2, 2008 About the PresentersThis Institute features a "Who's Who" of reading experts. Click here to see the entire list of confirmed presenters.
Dr. Stephanie Al Otaiba is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Florida State University and is a Faculty Associate of the Florida Center of Reading Research (FCRR). She received her Ph.D. in Human Development in 2000 from Vanderbilt University specializing in special education and early literacy. Prior to that, she was a special education teacher for 14 years. Al Otaiba has published over 30 articles and chapters related to her research interests: early literacy interventions, response to intervention, and teacher training. She is currently a principal or co-investigator on two studies examining the effectiveness of early literacy interventions which are funded by the US Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. María Elena Argüelles is an educational consultant who provides support to states, districts, and schools in their implementation of effective reading instruction for young students. Dr. Arguelles is a member of the Governor’s Secondary Reading Advisory Panel, a board member of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence-Special Education Standards and Research Associate of the Florida Center for Reading Research. Dr. Argüelles is the co-author of several publications and a consultant to publishers developing programs for struggling readers and English language learners. In addition, she has teaching experience at the public school level as well as at the undergraduate and graduate level. Her primary areas of interest are early reading instruction, students with reading difficulties, and reading instruction for English Language Learners. Pam Austin is a former teacher, reading interventionist and reading specialist, in New Orleans public schools. She is currently delivers professional development training to reading specialists and interventionists on a national level. Pam is also an accomplished novelist. Nanci Bell, M.A., is the Director of Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes. Since 1986, Lindamood-Bell has conducted research and authored programs concerning the underlying sensory processing necessary for language and literacy development. Under the direction of Nanci, Lindamood-Bell has become recognized nationally and internationally as an organization dedicated to helping all individuals reach their reading, spelling, and comprehension potential. Nanci is the author of the acclaimed programs Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking ®, Seeing Stars ® Symbol Imagery for Phonemic Awareness, Sight Words and Spelling, On Cloud Nine ® Math, and Talkies TM Visualizing and Verbalizing for Oral Language Comprehension and Expression. Larry Berger is CEO and co-founder of Wireless Generation, an education company with offices in New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.
that pioneered the adaptation of mobile technologies for use in managing and improving teaching and learning in grades Pre-K-6. Berger led the invention of Wireless Generation’s mCLASS® system, which enables educators to administer early reading and math formative assessments using handheld computers, then immediately receive easy-to-understand Web-based reports that support educators in using data to make decisions about instruction. Prior to launching Wireless Generation, Larry served as the Educational Technology Specialist at The Children's Aid Society, where he led the development of four community computer labs in disadvantaged neighborhoods that have served as models of using technology to empower young people.
Larry also developed (with Wireless Generation co-founder Greg Gunn) The Hole in The Web, an online extension of Paul Newman's “Hole In The Wall Gang” Camp for children with cancer and blood diseases. As a White House Fellow, Larry worked on Educational Technology at NASA. Dr. Robert Brooks, a psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, has lectured nationally and internationally to audiences of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and business people on topics pertaining to motivation, school climate, resilience, self-esteem, family relationships, the qualities of effective leaders and executives, and balancing our personal and professional lives. He has also written extensively about these topics. He is the author of a book titled The Self-Esteem Teacher and co-author of the following books: Raising Resilient Children; Nurturing Resilience in Our Children: Answers to the Most Important Parenting Questions; Seven Steps to Help Your Child Worry Less; Angry Children, Worried Parents: Seven Steps to Help Families Manage Anger; Seven Steps to Improve Your Child’s Social Skills; Handbook of Resilience in Children; and The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life (the latter book focuses on resilience in adults). In addition, Dr. Brooks is co-author of a book with Drs. Mel Levine and Jack Shonkoff titled A Pediatric Approach to Learning Disorders. He completed a videotape and educational guide for PBS titled “Look What You’ve Done! Stories of Hope and Resilience” that focuses on self-esteem and resilience in children with learning problems.
Suzanne Carreker is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor. Since 1990, she has served as the Director of Teacher Development at Neuhaus Education Center, a nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas, that has offered professional development in reading instruction to over 31,000 teachers since its inception in 1980. Mrs. Carreker, a past president of The Houston Branch of The International Dyslexia Association, is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences and has authored a number of multisensory curricula, including Reading Readiness, Scientific Spelling, Basic Language Skills, and Multisensory Grammar. She has written textbook chapters and has published articles in academic journals. Mrs. Carreker served as a consultant and contributor to the Texas Teacher Reading Academies and was a State Master Trainer for the Kindergarten and First-Grade Texas Teacher Reading Academies. Most recently, she is serving as a consultant to the State Department of Education for Alaska and to the Section of Neuropsychology, Wake Forest University. David grew up in South Carolina during the 1950s. He did not learn to read in school and dropped out when he was 16. David wanted more than anything to learn to read, but was hesitant to share his secret with anyone. He developed a successful carpet laying business, although he could not read the word carpet. At the age of 47 David hurt his knee and could no longer lay carpet. He needed to learn to read to complete a job application, and he tried several literacy organizations before his career counselor recommended the Washington Literacy Council. The Council told him they would teach him to read, and they did. He now reads so much that he occasionally misses his metro stop when he is immersed in a book. David Clemons works at the Washington Literacy Council in Washington, D.C., as Student Support Coordinator. He speaks nationally about literacy. Dr. Connor, is an assistant professor at Florida State University, College of Education, Reading and Language Arts, and a research faculty member of the Florida Center for Reading Research. Recently awarded the 2006 President’s Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the 2007 APA Richard Snow Award, she completed her Ph.D. and was an assistant research scientist in Psychology at University of Michigan just prior to coming to Florida. Her research interests focus on children’s learning in the classroom from preschool through third grade and the complex relation between children’s language and literacy skill development. She is the principal investigator of two randomized control field trials funded by the US Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. These studies examine the effects of individualizing literacy instruction for first, second, and third grade students based on their entering language and reading skills. The intervention combines the use of Assessment-to-instruction (A2i) software with intensive professional development. A2i, which is web based, supports teachers’ efforts to individualize reading instruction using assessment to guide instruction and effective planning of small group instruction.
Dr. Dahlgren received her Doctorate of Education from Oklahoma State University. Mary is currently educational consultant and National LETRS trainer working with departments of education, districts, and schools within the United States. Mary has worked as a classroom teacher, reading specialist and tutor, teacher trainer for over 20 years. Mary was the lead trainer for the Institute for Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of Education Professional Development Impact Study, a two year study focusing on evaluating whether comprehensive content-based in-service professional development programs substantially improve early-grade reading instruction and thereby improve students’ reading achievement. Mary has over twenty years of experience teaching children and training teachers. She is certified as a Qualified Instructor by the Academic Language Therapy Association and is an Alphabetic Phonics Therapist. She is the former Executive Director of a non-profit teacher training center in Oklahoma. The center was founded by parents of dyslexic children and was established to provide teacher training for teachers of dyslexic students and parent support. Mary has served as a consultant for the Region VII Comprehension Center in Oklahoma since 1999, and as an evaluator on the E-TEAM for the national evaluation of the Reading Success Network. This provided Mary the opportunity to observe reading instruction in kindergarten through third grade classrooms all over the United States. Dr. Dahlgren has presented numerous times at national, state and local conferences on reading instruction and classroom application. She is the coauthor of Teaching Reading In an Inner City School Through a Multisensory Approach, Annals of Dyslexia, 51, 229-242; and coauthor of Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century: A Conversation Among Multiple Stakeholders, in S.A. Beach, P. Fry, & J. Colins (Eds.), Perspectives on Reading: Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. It is her passion to share information in reading to others so that they may be as empowered as she was in making a difference in the lives of her students. Dr. Carolyn Denton is a researcher in the Children’s Learning Institute, part of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston. Dr. Denton’s research is focused on intervention for the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities; the role of response to intervention in the identification of students with learning disabilities; the role of the reading coach in professional development; and the process of bringing research-validated educational practices to wide scale implementation. A former public school teacher, Dr. Denton is committed to conducting field-based research to validate effective practices in school settings and translating research to practice for educators. She is the author of Responsive Reading Instruction, a first grade reading intervention program, and co-author with Dr. Jan Hasbrouck of The Reading Coach: A How-To Manual for Success, as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Adrienne S. Dowden has a Masters of Education degree from Xavier University in Curriculum and Instruction/Reading. She is president of ASD Educational Consulting Company. As a reading specialist she has worked with local schools, school districts, and state departments of education. Most recently she is working as a consultant with the Center for Development and Learning assisting and supporting districts, schools and staff with curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development needs in order to positively impact student achievement in reading at all grade levels. She provides ongoing support and resources in scientifically based reading research instruction, including coaching and job-embedded professional development, to district and individual school faculties. Adrienne has worked as a special education and classroom teacher and a Reading Facilitator and Specialist for New Orleans Public Schools for over 24 years. As Reading Coordinator for American Federation of Teachers (AFT)/UTNO, she coordinated the AFT Reading Project in New Orleans Public Schools. She served as Regional Reading First Consultant with the Louisiana State Department of Education providing professional development in reading to Reading First and non- Reading First schools and at the state level for coaches, principals, and teachers. Adrienne has also served as Project Manager and Senior Reading Specialist for the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) supervising the development and implementation of the USDOE- Expanding the Reach Project which included scientifically based reading research content and technical assistance to Title-One, Low-performing elementary schools in meeting the needs of effective reading instruction and working with national reading experts, technical assistance specialists, State Education Agencies and Local Education Agencies to deliver training and technical assistance in the implementation of evidence-based reading instruction. Originally from Wisconsin, Susan Ebbers has been a K-8 principal and teacher in public and private schools in Alabama and California. She has taught reading to primary students and intervention reading to middle school students and has served as a district secondary content literacy coach in California. She has co-authored The Washington State K-12 Reading Model and written Vocabulary through Morphemes: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Roots for Intermediate Grades as well as a set of 28 interactive, consumable, and decodable Power Readers for primary grades (both published by Sopris West). Currently a doctoral student, Susan is focusing on vocabulary development. She may be contacted through her website at www.readingway.com. Linda Farrell is a principal with Really Great Reading Company, located in the Washington, D.C. area. Really Great Reading Company offers workshops and products to help students who are learning to read or who struggle with reading. Linda taught junior high English in the 1970’s and she was frustrated because she could not seem to reach her students who struggled with reading. She left the public schools to become and investment banker for almost 20 years. Linda developed her expertise with struggling readers when she spent 12 years as a volunteer teaching adults to read at the Washington Literacy Council. For two years she worked with her adult students and made no progress using the traditional methods. She was committed to finding a way to teach her adult students who were working so hard to learn to read, but making no progress with the methods employed by the Council at that time. At one of the many workshops Linda attended, she finally learned about SBRR methods that were being used in some schools. Linda decided to try those methods with her adult students, and they worked! Some of her students immediately begin learning to read. However, what she learned at the first workshop was not enough to help everyone. So she continued taking workshops and eventually completed a number of trainings, including Wilson, Lindamood-Bell, Phono-Graphix, Read Naturally and many others. Along her journey to learn to help all struggling readers, she met Louisa Moats, who has become a mentor for her. Linda now gives workshops nationally on assessing and teaching beginning and struggling readers. She is a National LETRS Trainer and a National DIBELS Trainer for Sopris West. She wrote the DIBELS workshop used by Sopris West National DIBELS trainers and she is a co-author of the book DIBELS: A Practical Manual. Linda also contributed phonics skills assessments and a list of decoding skills to Louisa Moat’s LETRS professional development program. Jack M. Fletcher, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the University of Houston. For the past 30 years, Dr. Fletcher, a child neuropsychologist, has completed research on many aspects of the development of reading, language, and other cognitive skills in children. He has worked extensively on issues related to learning and attention problems, including definition and classification, neurobiological correlates, and most recently, intervention. Dr. Fletcher directs a Learning Disability Research Center grant, a study of math disabilities in children, and a long-term study of neurobiological factors and learning in spina bifida, all funded by the National Institute of Child health and Human Development. He served on the NICHD National Advisory Council, the Rand Reading Study Group, the National Research Council Committee on Scientific Principles in Education Research, and the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education. Dr. Fletcher was the recipient of the Samuel T. Orton award from the International Dyslexia Association in 2003 and a co-recipient of the Albert J. Harris award from the International Reading Association in 2006. Vicki Gibson, Ph.D. has been teaching kindergarten, training staff, writing curriculum, and directing instruction for 30 years. She has owned and operated private preschools for children ages 2-8 years. Dr. Gibson authored the reading and writing curriculum We Can Early Childhood Curriculum and two supplemental state-approved programs for emergent readers and writers: I Can Draw Pre-Writing Program and Letters, Sounds, and Strokes Phonics Program. She developed and authored We Can Manage the Early Childhood Classroom. Dr. Gibson lectured and served as a pre-service teacher trainer at Texas A&M University in the College of Education Department of Education Psychology and taught courses in regular and special education specializing in reading, math, and the identification of learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. Dr. Gibson served as Elementary Site Director for Texas A&M’s Special Education Summer Clinical Practicum that worked with at risk students who needed intensive instruction in reading and math. She is currently completing a book, Differentiated Instruction: Grouping for Success that is a teacher’s guide for using assessment data to inform practice and implement whole and small group differentiated instruction. Currently, Dr. Gibson is President and Owner of Longmire Learning Center, a private school and teacher training facility in College Station, Texas. She is the Vice President of Curriculum Development for istation, publisher of The Imagination Station Reading Program, a national consultant for Macmillan McGraw-Hill core reading programs and a speaker/trainer at state and national conferences on differentiated instruction, classroom management, early childhood education, and reading for PreK-Grade 3. Susan L. Hall, Ed.D., is a consultant specializing in teacher training in early reading. She is founder and president of an educational consulting and professional development company called 95 Percent Group Inc. The company provides consulting and teacher training to districts and schools in how to use early literacy screening data to inform differentiated instruction delivered in small groups to address specific skill deficits. Susan is a nationally certified trainer of DIBELS and LETRS. Dr. Hall is coauthor with Louisa Moats of two books, Straight Talk About Reading and Parenting a Struggling Reader, and author of I’ve DIBEL’d, Now What? Her newest book, Implementing Response to Intervention: A Principal’s Guide, was published by Corwin Press in December, 2007. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree at Lawrence University, her Master’s Degree from Harvard University and her Doctorate of Education from National-Louis University. D r. Hall is supported by a group of highly qualified professionals that enable 95 Percent Group Inc. to serve clients nation-wide. Jan Hasbrouck is an educational consultant, trainer, and researcher. She recently served as the Executive Consultant to the
Washington State Reading Initiative. Dr. Hasbrouck worked as a reading specialist for 15 years before becoming a professor at the University of Oregon and later
Texas A&M University. Jan consults with schools, districts and state departments with a focus on improving instruction for students who struggle with reading. Dr. Hasbrouck also provides educational consulting to individual schools across the
United States as well as internationally, helping teachers and administrators design and implement effective instructional programs for low-performing readers. Nancy Hennessy, M.Ed., is an experienced general and special education teacher, diagnostician, administrator, and consultant. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology, a graduate degree in special education, and has completed advanced studies in administration. While in public schools, she provided leadership and guidance in the development and implementation of innovative programming for special needs students, professional development planning for staff and an award winning supervision evaluation system. Nancy has delivered presentations for audiences nationally and internationally. Her topics have included research-based reading practices, dyslexia, RtI, study skills, co-teaching, as well as supervision evaluation systems and professional development planning. Nancy has developed and facilitated on-line chats on reading research and is also the author of several articles. She recently wrote “Mentoring in a Professional Community” in The Reflective Mentor: Case Studies in Creating Learning Partnerships. She has served in various positions for the International Dyslexia Association and is the immediate Past President. She also serves on the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities and is a member of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic’s National Advisory Council. Nancy is an adjunct instructor for Fairleigh Dickinson University and was one of the pioneer instructors in the Dyslexia Specialist program. She is the president of The Consulting Network, serves as a Lead Trainer for Wilson Language Systems and a National Trainer for LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling). Michael is a national DIBELS Trainer for Sopris West and a national DIBELS trainer for Pro Active Parent Company. Previously, Michael has served as the Co-Director of Summer Reading Program in McLean, VA (2004), co-instructor for graduate level classes in beginning reading instruction at two Edison public charter schools in Washington, DC. (2003 and 2004), a consultant on reading issues for a Washington, DC, public charter school with 80% of its student population qualifying for special services (2003 and 2004), a co-presenter of writing workshop for K-5 teachers in public school in Atlanta (2003), a private reading tutor for children (2002 – current), and a presenter of workshops teaching intervention lessons for K-3 in Texas, Maryland, Louisiana and North Carolina. Michael served as a volunteer at the Washington Literacy Council in Washington, D.C. for 11 years where he has been a tutor, classroom instructor, mentor, tutor trainer, and vice-president of the board. While at the Washington Literacy Council, Michael pioneered changing the instructional program from whole language to explicit, systematic, multi-sensory instruction using the Wilson Reading System He implemented phonemic instruction in Sound Lab classes for more than 100 adult students and trained and mentored more than 500 volunteers in how to use the Wilson Reading System. He also trained and mentored more than 50 tutors and students in other programs including Lindamood-Bell, Phono-Graphix, Project Read, Language! Gertrude A. Ivory is a veteran educator who currently serves as the Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the Charlottesville City Public Schools. Her responsibilities include the oversight for and supervision of all curricula, instructional, assessment and professional development decisions and programs in the school division. Gertrude has also served in a large, urban school district as Administrator for Literacy, Director of Extended Learning/Summer School Programs, Director of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, and Curriculum Coach for a high school reform model program. Gertrude has designed and presented numerous professional development experiences for teachers, administrators, school support staff, and parents, locally, and at the state and national levels. She has a strong background in literacy and serving the needs of special education students. She is the mother of three children and the grandmother of three delightful grandchildren. Dr. G. Reid Lyon has developed SYNERGISTIC EDUCATION SOLUTIONS (SES), a new initiative designed to provide guidance and professional development resources for research, educational assessment and instructional practices, and education policy in partnership with state departments of education, school districts, individual schools, professional organizations, parent organizations, for-profit education companies, and higher education entities. Dr. Lyon has over 30 years of experience as a neuroscientist, professor, teacher, school psychologist, and leader in the development of evidence-based education policy at the federal and state levels. He has taught children with learning disabilities, served as a third grade classroom teacher, and was a school psychologist for 12 years in the public schools. From 1992 until 2005 Dr. Lyon served as a research psychologist and Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He was responsible for the direction, development, and management of scientific programs in cognitive, social, and emotional development, early childhood development and school readiness, behavioral pediatrics, cognitive neuroscience, reading and reading difficulties, mathematics development and disorders, and specific learning disabilities. In addition to his responsibilities at NICHD, from 2001 until 2005 Dr. Lyon served as an advisor to the White House and the U.S. Department of Education on child development and education research and policies including co-authorship of the Reading First legislation in collaboration with congressional staff members. He has authored, co-authored and edited over 130 journal articles, books, and book chapters addressing developmental neuroscience, educational policy, and learning differences and disabilities in children and adolescents. Nancy Williamson Manuel is Coordinator of Best Practices with the Center for Child Development at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She serves as a researcher and evaluator, presently doing on-going research and external evaluation of the Reading First Program for the Louisiana State Department of Education. Prior to joining the Center for Child Development , Dr. Manuel worked in the field of education for twenty-two years as a special education teacher, home board instructor, elementary teacher (grades 1 st, 3 rd, 4 th & 8 th), after school site coordinator, reading facilitator/coach, supervising/mentoring teacher, and educational consultant. She has presented workshops at regional and state conferences; specially addressing differentiated reading instruction within the classroom through the use of data analysis and nonfiction types of genres. Dr. Manuel received a B.A. in elementary and special education from McNeese State University, M.Ed. and ED.S. in supervision and administration as well as Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling with a minor in psychology from Louisiana State University College of Education. Her post doctorial work is in the field of reading. Marty Masters is the Senior National Literacy Consultant for Sopris West Educational Services. Prior to this position, she was the Program Director for Step Up to Writing, Spellography, and DIBELS. Marty graduated from the Peabody College of Education of Vanderbilt University with a degree in English. She has taught students in elementary and secondary grade levels. As an instructional leader, she has directed a Title I reading program at the school level and, at a district level, she has integrated content materials with literacy instruction and integrated the Core Knowledge curriculum with state standards and literacy instruction. In the private sector, she has promoted, advertised, and delivered literacy tutoring services for students K-12, provided teacher training nationally on expository and narrative writing, active reading strategies, and integration with content instruction, and written product trainings for school districts to build local capacity. Her professional background also includes corporate training. Patricia G. Mathes is a nationally respected researcher and teacher educator. Dr. Mathes is the Shad Moarif (Ed.M, Harvard) has conducted extensive Math teacher-training workshops in Canada, Switzerland, France, USA, and Singapore. He has spoken at various conferences and seminars as a specialist in Math education for underachievers. He worked as Program Director for Knowledge Architecture, a Vancouver based firm that specialized in delivering Information Technology applications (Project Management) to High schools over the Internet, way back in the early eighties. He also served as a Principal of a private School for students with LD in Vancouver. He was Vice-President of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), BC and subsequently served as a member on IDA’s (BC) Advisory Board. He is the author of “The Complete Book of Multiplication,” “The Complete Book of Division,” and “Practice Sheets for Learning Multiplication Tables.” Shad has been teaching Math privately to students for over 28 years. He began work on his CLSO-MATH program 13 years ago and this work is still in progress. The program has undergone Pilot testing in a local school in Vancouver for over two years, and has produced extreme success among students disadvantaged with Learning Difficulties. He is currently President of CLSO Learning Systems Inc, a start-up company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Dr. Moats has been a teacher, psychologist, researcher, graduate school faculty member, and author of many influential scientific journal articles, books, and policy papers on the topics of reading, spelling, language, and teacher preparation. She began her professional career as a neuropsychology technician and teacher of students with learning disabilities. She earned her Master’s degree at Peabody College of Vanderbilt and her doctorate in Reading and Human Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In addition to the profession development program LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, Sopris West), Dr. Moats’ books include Basic Facts About Dyslexia and Other Reading Problems (International Dyslexia Association); Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers (Brookes Publishing); Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press/Pro-Ed); and Straight Talk About Reading (with Susan Hall, Contemporary Books). Dr. Moats is currently Consultant Advisor to Sopris West Educational Services for Literacy Research and Professional Development. She is also a Vice President of the National Board of the International Dyslexia Association. Jan Z. Olsen OTR, is the developer of the Handwriting Without Tears® curriculum. Jan developed a new way to teach handwriting to help her first grade son. He had come home crying that his handwriting was the worst in the room. It was, and his teacher didn’t know how to help him! With the teacher’s blessing, Jan used her occupational therapy skills (task analysis, fine motor and developmental expertise) to develop as simpler method to help him and three other struggling children. Those children’s success was the start of Handwriting Without Tears. Now, years later, it’s an award winning curriculum that is used by millions of children. The focus of Jan’s work is developing child friendly, multi-sensory materials and workbooks and showing teachers how to teach handwriting to children of all ages and abilities. Tina Osenga has a B.A. in Diversified Education and a M.Ed. in Special Education with an emphasis in learning disabilities. Experience teaching in pre-school through graduate levels, as well as working with teachers and families, provides extensive background and understanding of effective educational methods. Training, study, and practice in various aspects of research-based literacy development enable her to assist teachers in strengthening their ability to determine individual learning needs and provide appropriate instruction to facilitate student success. Over the years Tina has held positions such as literacy specialist, classroom teacher (general and special education), special education coordinator, internship supervisor, college instructor, and research assistant. Karen Romito is the CEO of Romito Consulting, based in El Dorado Hills, California. Her teaching and administrative experience span over twenty years and in all grades from kindergarten to college. She holds a BS in Business Administration, MS in Special Education, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. As an educational consultant and curriculum management auditor, she has conducted audits and training associated with school improvement in 38 states. As a consultant to state departments of education, Dr. Romito has collaborated on policy, systems, and staff development for seven years. Seminars she conducts utilize best practices which optimize learner experiences toward improving education. Her company is instrumental in charter school development and school reform efforts around the country. Timothy Shanahan is Professor of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he is Director of the UIC Center for Literacy. He has been director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools, serving 437,000 children. He is author or editor of more than 150 publications including the book, Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners. Professor Shanahan is immediate past president of the International Reading Association. In 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy. He is on the Advisory Boards of the National Center for Family Literacy and Reach Out and Read, and has served on the National Reading Panel, a group convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the request of Congress to evaluate research on successful methods of teaching reading Shanahan received the Albert J. Harris Award for outstanding research on reading disability from the International Reading Association, and he was inducted to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a former first-grade teacher. Dr. Jill Slack is a Project Director with the Improving School Performance Unit at SEDL (formerly the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory). She plays a lead role in SEDL’s reading/literacy-focused initiatives, designing and providing training and ongoing support to state, local, and intermediate agencies in reading, writing, and school improvement strategies. She leads a cooperative initiative to assist in the post-Katrina recovery of Louisiana schools, focusing intensively on professional development and instructional resources in reading and literacy and she leads SEDL’s involvement in Louisiana’s first local Early Reading First project. Her prior SEDL work via the regional educational laboratory and the Southeast Comprehensive Assistance Center also focused on building instructional capacity in reading. Prior to joining SEDL in 1997, Dr. Slack worked as a reading specialist and classroom teacher in a large public school system, where she served as a site chairperson of the reading and language development programs. She has also worked as an ESL instructor, a research associate/site trainer and program evaluator for the Accelerated Schools Project, and an assistant professor in higher education. Dr. Billy Ray Stokes is the Director of The Center for Child Development is a multi-disciplinary group of evaluation and research professionals that focus on early childhood, K-12 education, and life-long learning. The Center provides high-quality, rigorous evaluation of programs that are implemented to address learning from birth through adulthood. Applied research is continually conducted in all areas of child education, health, and well-being to ensure a prosperous and healthy future for all of Louisiana's children. He is the author of How the 2005 Hurricanes Affected Students in Louisiana and Student Displacement in Louisiana After the Hurricanes of 2005: Experiences of Public Schools and Their Students published by the Rand Corporation. Alice Thomas is the founder, president and CEO of the Center for Development and Learning (CDL). A career educator for 30+ years, Alice has been a teacher, counselor, and intervention specialist in inner city, suburban and rural public schools in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. She has delivered hundreds of seminars on learning and teaching to public, parochial and private school administrators, teachers and parents both nationally and internationally, and she has presented at national and international conferences. Additionally, she has served as a co-instructor for graduate level courses at Louisiana universities. Alice is the co-creator of the Learning Profiles: Differentiated Instruction for Diverse Learners© professional development program. She is the lead creator of Right from Birth© and Going to School© parent training curricula. Additionally, Alice is the author of numerous articles on teaching and learning and is editor of four PLAIN TALK summit proceedings. Alice holds a Master's degree from Louisiana State University. In 1990 she completed a fellowship at the Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning at the University of North Carolina Medical School, Chapel Hill. Alice is a graduate of the National Staff Development Council Academy and has completed training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) by Louisa C. Moats. She recently studied change leadership with Michael Fullan in doctoral courses at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Alice has served on advisory and corporate boards of local, state and national organizations. Glenda Thorne is the Vice-President of Clinical Services of CDL. She holds a doctoral degree in psychology from Louisiana State University, and in 1991 completed a mini-fellowship at the Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has also completed training in Language Essential for Teachers of Reading and Spelling by Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D. Glenda is a licensed psychologist in the State of Louisiana, specializing in learning disorders and attention deficits and related social and emotional problems. She is the Co-creator of the Learning Connections school-wide improvement program. Dr. Thorne is the lead author of the Behavioral, Academic, and Neurodevelopmental Survey (BANDS), a clinical descriptive data gathering system for teachers, parents and students. She is co-author of MINDWORKS! ...and how Mine Works, a book written for middle, junior high and high school students about learning and thinking. She has made numerous presentations at professional conferences and has written chapters on memory, language, attention and handwriting skills for the PLAIN TALK summit proceedings. She also writes articles for CDL's quarterly newsletter. She has conducted many professional continuing education workshops on the assessment and treatment of reading and other language disorders, the assessment and treatment of Attention-Deficit Disorders, and the assessment and treatment of neurodevelopment processes that are associated with school performance. Dr. Thorne has taught in the Department of Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University as a Visiting Assistant Professor. She has also served as adjunct faculty at Southeastern Louisiana University in the Departments of Psychology and Education and at the University of New Orleans in the College of Education. She has been employed by the public school system, where she served as a member of a multidisciplinary team and conducted student evaluations, teacher and parent consultations, and teacher inservices. Anne Whitney is a speech-language pathologist and special educator who is a member of the clinical and teaching faculties at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus. Dr. Whitney has extensive clinical and teaching expertise in language learning disabilities in children, adolescents, and adults, with particular expertise in dyslexia and reading disabilities. Dr. Whitney has taught numerous university courses and has clinically trained graduate students in methods for assessment and intervention of children and adults with dyslexia and other language learning disabilities. She has worked in a public school setting, teaching in regular middle school classrooms and in special education classes with an emphasis on language learning disabilities and literacy. Dr. Whitney is a certified National Trainer for Louisa Moat’s Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), LANGUAGE!, and REWARDS. She is a frequent presenter at local, state, and national conferences and is co-author of SPELL-Links to Reading and Writing, Games & Activities for Readers and Spellers; and the Instructional Resources Guide for Teachers.
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Sally E. Shaywitz
Susan
Louisa Cook Moats