Dr. Carolyn Strom is a clinical professor at New York University (NYU), reading specialist, and former first grade teacher. Her work centers on bridging the disconnect between neuroscientific research and instructional practices used to teach foundational reading skills. She collaborates widely with school districts, teachers, families, and tech companies. Carolyn is a recent recipient of NYU Steinhardt's Teaching Excellence Award and has published her work in The Reading Teacher, The Reading League Journal, and The Handbook of Learning Disabilities. She maintains a clinical practice working with children who have dyslexia. 

Caitlin Deckard is a Science of Reading Specialist and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has held various positions in rural and urban school districts, including elementary classroom teacher, literacy interventionist, gifted and talented teacher, RTI coordinator, strategic planning board member, and Title Services program coordinator. Caitlin prioritizes evidence-based best practices within the MTSS framework, while making research both accessible and approachable to educators. Her belief that literacy is a civil right and a prerequisite for survival and success within our society influences her work designing professional development for The Literacy Architects. 

Amy Wolford is an Instructional Design Consultant for The Literacy Architects. She has been in the field of education for more than 15 years. She began her career as a third grade teacher and was then inspired to pursue an endorsement as a reading specialist, ultimately receiving her M.Ed. in reading education from the University of Virginia. Since that time, she has served in various roles as a literacy coach, reading interventionist, professional learning facilitator, and general education teacher. Her dedication and work with early literacy earned her a 2021 Educator of the Year recognition.

Dr. Jasmine Rogers serves as a Manager and Coach within the In Schools program at the DC Reading Clinic, a reading practicum program in the District of Columbia Public Schools. In this impactful role, she organizes and facilitates professional development, focusing on coaching and implementing structured literacy best practices. With a rich teaching background spanning nine years, she finished her teaching career as a reading specialist before transitioning to the reading clinic. Currently, Jasmine is an adjunct instructor and early literacy intervention scholar at American University where her research examines the intersection of Black Language and structured literacy.  

Dr. Amy Elleman earned a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Maryland. She earned her M.Ed. and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University where she became interested in the early identification and treatment of reading comprehension difficulties. Dr. Elleman’s current research focuses on the examination of factors central to reading comprehension including vocabulary, inference generation, and knowledge acquisition. She has expertise in meta-analysis and conducting reading comprehension interventions. Dr. Elleman currently serves as the director of the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Literacy Studies Ph.D. Program, an interdisciplinary program dedicated to teaching doctoral students how to translate literacy research to practice.  

Shauna Cotte holds the position of Vice President, Director of Professional Development Management and is a member of the senior management team. Beginning in 2007 with Keys to Literacy, Shauna spent 15 years as a trainer and account manager. Shauna began her career in education as a classroom teacher at both the elementary and secondary levels before becoming a literacy interventionist. She received an M.Ed. in Reading Curriculum Development and Instruction from Boston College and a B.S. in Education from Framingham State College. Shauna has collaborated with curriculum coordinators, administrators, and special educators to design and implement various research-based curriculum initiatives at both a school-wide and district-wide level. 

Larissa Phillips is the Assistant Director at The Center for Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University, providing professional development and consulting services for teachers and school leadership. Previously, she spent 18 years as an Intervention Specialist and Reading Specialist in public schools. Larissa is trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, an Acadience Mentor, and has completed the Master’s in Reading Science program at Mount St. Joseph University. Larissa is a doctoral student in Mount St. Joseph’s Reading Science program. She is passionate about providing schools and teachers with the capacity for systems change, structured literacy, and implementing high-quality curricula.  

Caitlin Deckard is a Science of Reading Specialist and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has held various positions in rural and urban school districts, including elementary classroom teacher, literacy interventionist, gifted and talented teacher, RTI coordinator, strategic planning board member, and Title Services program coordinator. Caitlin prioritizes evidence-based best practices within the MTSS framework, while making research both accessible and approachable to educators. Her belief that literacy is a civil right and a prerequisite for survival and success within our society influences her work designing professional development for The Literacy Architects. 

Dr. Amy Murdoch is an Assistant Dean and Professor at Mount St. Joseph University (MSJ). She started and directs MSJ’s Reading Science graduate and doctoral programs. She is also the Founding Director of MSJ’s Center for Reading Science. Before joining the MSJ faculty, she worked in a large urban school district as the director of many large reading grants, including the Reading First grant, and was a regional reading and MTSS consultant. She is currently involved in two large research projects. The first involves the creation of a free, structured literacy preschool program with a large focus on language and knowledge development. The second is an Office of Special Education Programs Model Demonstration grant that has the goal of better understanding early identification and the early support of children with Dyslexia and those at risk for reading problems (preschool-grade 3). 

Janeé Butler is the Director of Program Design and Implementation at The Center for Literacy and Learning. Janee’ had the honor of serving on the Louisiana Department of Education’s Early Literacy Commission. Now, Janee’ is serving as the Co-Chair of the Louisiana Literacy Advisory Commission. Janee’ holds her master’s degree in educational leadership, allowing her to fulfill roles as a reading interventionist, instructional coach, curriculum expert, and reading specialist Janeé is also a doctoral student pursuing her Ph.D. in General Psychology with an Emphasis in Cognition and Instruction. Janeé continues to move the needle in teacher training through her collective content development of GRB-Adolescent Literacy and GRB-English Language Learners. 

Donna Mastrovito received her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Worcester State College, and a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts in Elementary Education. Donna’s career in education began as a Title 1 interventionist in the Worcester Public School System where she was classroom teacher, reading specialist, and literacy coach supporting teachers in delivering high-quality literacy instruction across the curriculum. Donna has presented literacy workshops at state and national conferences and has provided job-embedded literacy professional development at multiple school districts. She has also worked as an adjunct professor of literacy courses, supervisor of practicum students, and provider of support to other adjunct professors at American International College. Donna joined the Keys to Literacy team in 2012 and is a national Consultant/Trainer for all of the Keys to Literacy professional development courses, serving diverse groups of educational leaders, coaches, and teachers using in-person and virtual delivery formats. Donna is a contributing course developer for Keys to Beginning Reading and is a contributing editor for Keys to Early Writing, developing content and instructional materials.  

Dr. Carolyn Denton is an Educational Consultant and Reading Scientist specializing in reading instruction and intervention. For more than 20 years, Dr. Denton collaborated on research in which she developed and evaluated reading interventions for students with or at-risk for reading difficulties. Prior to her retirement, she was a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. A former classroom teacher and reading interventionist, she specializes in communicating with practitioners to help them understand and implement evidence-based practices. She is the author or co-author of numerous books, chapters, and journal articles on reading intervention, ADHD, and related topics.  

Dr. Amy Elleman earned a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Maryland. She earned her M.Ed. and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University where she became interested in the early identification and treatment of reading comprehension difficulties. Dr. Elleman’s current research focuses on the examination of factors central to reading comprehension including vocabulary, inference generation, and knowledge acquisition. She has expertise in meta-analysis and conducting reading comprehension interventions. Dr. Elleman currently serves as the director of the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Literacy Studies Ph.D. Program, an interdisciplinary program dedicated to teaching doctoral students how to translate literacy research to practice.  

Michael found his passion for teaching struggling readers as a volunteer teaching adult nonreaders. He is now dedicated to helping teachers teach every student to read. Michael has co-authored instructional materials with his business partner, Linda Farrell, including Phonics Plug-In ONE & TWO, Practice Packets for Fixing Common Confusions, and Teaching Vowel Sounds. Michael delivers professional development and advises schools nationally. Some of his favorite work with schools includes coaching and modeling in the classroom. This work with students and teachers keeps Michael’s skills fresh. This work also continues to inform the creation of additional instructional materials for beginning and struggling readers of all ages. Michael’s work at Readsters has even taken him to Africa to consult on early reading instruction in tribal languages.

Linda has had the career of her dreams, which is helping children, adolescents, and adults learn to read since 2000. She keeps her skills up to date by working with children struggling to learn to read whenever she can. She is the teacher in the Reading Rockets series Looking at Reading Interventions. Besides working directly with children, Linda’s favorite work is modeling in the classroom and helping teachers understand how to use data. She has worked in schools throughout the country helping to implement instruction that ensures all students learn to read. Linda has written assessments and curriculum that are widely used. In the last few years, she has worked in Senegal and Niger helping write curricula and assessments for children who are learning to read in seven languages she doesn’t even speak! Linda presents at conferences nationally and internationally about effective instruction for beginning and struggling readers.  

Dr. Tomiko Ball is an Assistant Principal in DC Public Schools and Adjunct Professorial Lecturer at American University School of Education. Dr. Ball has 15 years experience serving elementary youth in Washington, DC. Employing conscious leadership, she utilizes affirmative-based pedagogical approaches for all students in pre-k to adult, specifically uplifting students of color and multilingual learners. As an active public scholar, she often explores the intersection of antiracist policy, research, and practice in her presentations and publications. Dr. Ball recently completed her doctorate degree in Educational Policy and Leadership and earned the 2022 American University Outstanding Scholarship at the Graduate Level Award. Presently, Dr. Ball serves as an Assistant Principal in the district, an Adjunct Professor at American University School of Education and a Contributing Writer with Philly’s 7th Ward. As a practitioner, she is a disrupter of Imposter syndrome, advocate for holistic wellness and consultant for advancing conscious leadership for equity. Dissertation of Practice: Analysis, Affirmation and Advocacy: Deconstructing Experiences of Imposter Syndrome Amongst Doctoral Students of Color at a Predominantly White Institution. 

Madison Kantzer is currently the Social Studies Specialist at the Office of the State Superintendent in Washington, DC. Madison recently oversaw the revision of the Washington, DC Social Studies Standards, which were updated to include an inquiry-based approach to understanding history that focuses on the evaluation of multiple perspectives of different historical events and teaching students to critically evaluate the reliability and utility of different texts in understanding the past. Madison taught social studies for six years in Woodbridge, VA after receiving a Master’s in the Teaching of Social Studies from Teachers College at Columbia University. She has also worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA and as a civic education instructor with students throughout the US facilitating conversations about current controversial topics. Madison received a James Madison Fellowship in teaching the Constitution and graduated from Penn State in 2010 with degrees in History and Art History.   

Vaani worked at DCPS for 15 years as both an elementary teacher and a K-2 literacy coach. Vaani currently works at DC’s Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) as the Literacy Specialist. In this role, Vaani develops and provides research aligned professional development to teachers across the public and charter schools of DC. Vaani has been especially passionate about early literacy for the past 5 years, when she joined a LETRS cohort and was shocked at how misaligned reading instruction was to the research. Since then, Vaani has been an advocate for evidence-based literacy practices, especially for our youngest learners. Vaani loves reading, drinking coffee, being in the sun and spending time with her family and friends. She is originally from Florida but has lived in the District for over 15 years.