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Literacy For All

2008 Literacy for All Featured Speakers

Keynote Speakers	Reading Recovery Speakers
Gail Gibbons Sara Holbrook Carol Lyons Tony Stead	Ann Ballantyne Janet Behrend Mary Anne Doyle Sharan Gibson Ellen Hauser Irene Huggins Clifford Johnson Carol Lyons Yvonne Rodríguez Mary Rosser
Middle School Strand	K-6 Conference Speakers
Janet Allen Rita Bean Sara Holbrook Megan Lambert Linda Rief Cathy Toll Judy Willis, MD	Rita Bean Alyssa Satin Capucilli Irene C. Fountas Peter Johnston Megan Lambert Carol Lyons Gay Su Pinnell Tony Stead Cathy Toll

Session Descriptions (These links will take you to a new page.)
K-8 Keynote Topics, K-6 and Middle School Strand Sessions
Reading Recovery Keynote Topic and Sessions

	Janet Allen Author, Researcher, and Consultant Janet Allen is an international consultant recognized for her literacy work with at-risk students. She is the author of numerous professional books. Her most recent book is Inside Words: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary 4-12. Other publications include: Tools for Teaching Content Literacy; On the Same Page: Shared Reading Beyond the Primary Grades; Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided Paths to Independent Reading; and, Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12 (Stenhouse Publishers); It's Never Too Late: Leading Adolescents to Lifelong Literacy (Heinemann); and co-author of There's Room for Me Here: Literacy Workshop in the Middle School (Stenhouse); The Scholastic Read-Aloud Anthology (Scholastic); and, Reading History (Oxford University Press). Janet taught high school reading and English in northern Maine from 1972 until 1992 when she relocated to teach English and reading education courses at the University of Central Florida. During her tenure at UCF, she directed the Central Florida Writing Project and assisted in the creation of the Orange County Literacy Project. Dr. Allen has received several teaching awards including the Milken Foundation's National Educator Award.
	Ann Ballantyne Reading Recovery Trainer Ann is a New Zealand trained Reading Recovery trainer who is currently working in the United States. She has been involved with Reading Recovery as teacher, teacher leader and trainer for twenty years and has worked alongside Reading Recovery colleagues in Canada, the United Kingdom and University sites in the US. Ann has recently completed a doctoral study investigating the origins and persistence of Reading Recovery from a policy perspective.
	Rita Bean Professor, University of Pittsburgh Rita Bean has been a reading specialist and coach in schools for grades K-12. She is currently a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teachers courses for those interested in becoming reading specialists or literacy coaches. She is the author of The Reading Specialist: Leadership for Classroom, School and Community.
	Janet Behrend Reading Recovery Trainer, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Janet Behrend worked in the Kansas City, Mo. School District for 23 years as a classroom teacher, Title I Reading and Basic Skills teacher, Title I instructional facilitator, district reading resource teacher, and Reading Recovery teacher leader. In 2002 she retired from the school district and joined the staff of the Center for Literacy at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as a teacher leader. She is currently a Reading Recovery trainer at UALR.
	Alyssa Satin Capucilli Children's Author Alyssa is an award-winning author of over fifty books, including Biscuit, the popular best-seller used to launch the My First I Can Read Series from HarperCollins. With over forty titles in the series, as well as over nine million books in print, Biscuit has been deemed a modern classic and has been translated into numerous language world wide. Alyssa is delighted and honored to share her love of reading and writing while celebrating literacy with young readers everywhere.
	Mary Anne Doyle Trainer and Professor, University of Connecticut Dr. Mary Anne Doyle is Professor of Education and Director of the Reading-Language Arts Center at the University of Connecticut. She is Director of Connecticut's Reading Recovery Project. Her previous experience includes positions as an elementary classroom teacher and a reading consultant. Dr. Doyle completed her Master's and Ph.D. degrees at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and she completed training as a Reading Recovery Trainer of Teacher Leader at Ohio State University. She has presented at International and National conferences as well as at numerous regional, state, and local programs. Her research interests include early literacy development and reading-writing connections. Her related, co-edited text, published by the International Reading Association, is "learning from the research of Reading/Writing Connections." She has also been a co-author of the International Reading Association's "Annual Summary of Investigations Relating to Reading." Dr. Doyle has served the Reading Recovery Council of North America as President (1999-2000) and an executive officer (1998-2001) and as Chair of the Publications Committee (1994-1999). She is currently editor of the "Journal of Reading Recovery." She is also the Chair of the Executive Board of the International Reading Recovery Trainers' Organization. In the spring of this year, Dr. Doyle was invited by Marie Clay to join the Marie Clay Literacy Trust as the Consulting Editor responsible for overseeing all future publications of Dr. Clay's texts, tests, and articles.
	Irene C. Fountas Author and Professor, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA Irene Fountas directs a comprehensive school reform project in the School of Education at Lesley University. She has been a classroom teacher, language arts specialist, and consultant in school districts across the nation and abroad and has received numerous awards for her contributions to literacy. Irene and co-author Gay Su Pinnell have published several books with Heinemann, including Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency: Thinking, Talking, and Writing about Reading (Grades K-8), and The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Grades K-8: Behaviors and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support.
	Gail Gibbons Author and Illustrator Gail Gibbons grew up writing stories and drawing pictures to fit the words. She has written and illustrated more than 100 nonfiction books for children, including The Moon Book; Owls; Cars and How They Go; and The Milk Makers. Gail resides with her husband in a solar house in Vermont and on an island off the coast of Maine.
	Sharan Gibson Associate Professor, San Diego State University Sharan Gibson is an Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University, and teaches course work in the Masters and Reading Specialist Credential Program, as well as serving as director and trainer of Teacher Leaders in the SDSU Reading Recovery Program.
	Sara Holbrook Poet and Author Sara Holbrook is the author of eleven poetry books for children, teens, and adults. Her poetry book for teens, Walking on the Boundaries of Change, won the Parent' Choice Award. One of her publications for educators, Practical Poetry: A Non-Standard Approach to Meeting Content Standards, is comprised of cross-curricular writing lessons using poetry as a vehicle in the content areas. In Outspoken: How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills Through Poetry Performance, she and co-author Michael Salinger combine writing and public speaking exercises to improve communication skills. Sara's greatest joy is helping students speak with precision and confidence.
	Ellen Hauser Director, New York University's Reading Recovery Project For over 18 years, Ellen Hauser has worked as a Reading Recovery teacher, teacher leader, and trainer. She is the Director of New York University's Reading Recovery Project.
	Irene Huggins Reading Recovery Trainer, Western Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery Irene Huggins is a Trainer at the Western Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery. She trained as a Reading Recovery Trainer in Auckland, New Zealand in 1995. For the past thirteen years Irene has been working with Teacher Leaders and Teachers to improve the implementation of Reading Recovery in Manitoba.
	Clifford Johnson Reading Recovery Trainer, Georgia State University Clifford Johnson is a trainer of teacher leaders and the semi-retired executive director of the Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative programs at Georgia State University (GSU). His career in early literacy expands over 40 years as a classroom teacher and university professor. He began Reading Recovery at GSU following his post-doctoral training at The Ohio State University during the 1990-1991 academic year. He served on the Reading Recovery Council of North America (RRCNA) Board of Directors since the founding of the RRCNA through 2002. He has been Vice President, President-Elect, and President of RRCNA. His research and teaching interests include early literacy and the prevention of literacy difficulties in young children. He is currently serving as a consultant for the GSU Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative programs and the legislative liaison for the Georgia Reading Association.
	Peter Johnston Professor, University at Albany Peter Johnston is a professor at the University at Albany where he researches the consequences of teaching and assessment practices for the literate lives of children and teachers. His recent books include Choice Words and Critical Literacy/Critical Teaching. He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, an independent organization comprising leaders in the field of literacy who have been elected to membership by their peers.

	Megan Lambert Instructor of Children's Literature Programs, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Megan Lambert earned a BA at Smith College and an MA in Children’s Literature at Simmons College. Her original story time models, The "Whole Book Approach" and the "Book in Hand Storytime," create interactive shared reading experiences connecting verbal and visual literacy skills are the basis for her work with children at The Carle and in outreach programs. She leads professional development programs on these approaches and on other topics related to the study, use, and enjoyment of children’s literature. A freelance writer and reviewer of several journals, Megan has served as a visiting professor at colleges and universities through New England, most recently Mt. Holyoke College, Boston University, and Simmons College.
	Carol Lyons Author and Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University Carol Lyons is the author of many books and articles on reading/learning disability, Reading Recovery, and teacher education. Carol's book, Teaching Struggling Readers: How to Use Brain-based Research to Maximize Learning is the foundation of her keynote address. She lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
	Gay Su Pinnell Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH Gay Su Pinnell is a professor in the School and Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. Gay's professional work focuses on literacy education of children and on ways to support teachers of reading, writing, and language arts. She has written numerous articles and received several prestigious awards for her work. She has co-authored many books and articles related to language and literacy learning with Irene Fountas, including Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, Grades K-8.
	Linda Rief Middle School Teacher and Author Linda Rief teaches eighth grade at Oyster Middle School in Durham, NH and is an instructor in the University of New Hampshire's Summer Literacy Institute. She is a national and international presenter on issues of adolescent literacy. Her latest books include Inside the Writer's-Reader's Notebook, 100 Quickwrites, and Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice (co-edited with Kylene Beers and Robert Probst).
	Yvonne Rodríguez Teacher Leader Trainer, Reading Recovery and Descubriendo la Lectura Yvonne Rodríguez has been involved with Reading Recovery and Descubriendo la Lectura since 1988. Currently, she is a Reading Recovery and Descubriendo La Lectura Teacher Leader Trainer and Associate Professor in the Reading Department at Texas Woman's University. Prior to her Reading Recovery training, Yvonne was a special education teacher who focused on bilingual special education issues of instruction and assessment. Yvonne has made many presentations at the national, state, and local level in topics such as Multicultural Education, Early Literacy, Bilingual Special Education Assessment, Reading Instruction and the ESL child, and topics relevant to Reading Recovery and Descubriendo La Lectura educators.
	Mary Rosser Reading Recovery Trainer, University of Maine Mary Rosser is formerly the state trainer for Reading Recovery in Queensland and lecturer in the School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia), is now the Reading Recovery trainer at the University of Maine. Mary's particular areas of expertise are in language education and curriculum development. She has worked at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education and has extensive international experience as a literacy consultant around the world. Mary's research interests include the development of culturally responsive reading materials for use in indigenous contexts.
	Tony Stead Educator and Author Tony Stead is an Australian educator who works extensively with school districts across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Tony has taught both at the elementary and college level and is the author of many publications, including Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Nonfiction K-5 (Stenhouse, 2007) and Is That a Fact?: Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3 (Stenhouse, 2001) as well as the video series, Time for Nonfiction, and Now I REALLY Get It. Sponsored by Rosen Classroom/B. Lothrop Books
	Cathy Toll Founder and Lead Consultant, Toll & Associates Cathy Toll is committed to serving the needs of literacy coaches and those who support them. She travels widely, providing workshops, coaching, and consultation to those working in schools, school districts, state departments of education, and foundations. Prior to her leadership of Toll & Associates, Cathy worked as a teacher at the elementary, middle, high school, and university levels. She has also worked as a reading specialist, curriculum coordinator, principal, director of literacy research and development, grant director, and consultant. This work provided many opportunities to deepen her understanding of literacy, learning, teaching, schools, and leadership and to refine her skills as an educational coach. Cathy's Ph.D. is in Language and Literacy Education from The Pennsylvania State University. Cathy is currently developing a model of teacher professional growth with which she will help school districts and and policymakers rethink the entire nature of "professional development."
	Judy Willis, MD, M.Ed. Neurologist and Middle School Teacher Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and a middle school teacher in Santa Barbara, CA combined her training in neuroscience and neuroimaging with her teacher education training and classroom experience. She is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and teaching strategies derived from this research. In addition to speaking nationally and internationally about the neuro-logical basis of learning, Dr. Willis's articles connecting neurology and education have been published in many education journals. Her books for administrators and educators include Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist and Classroom Teacher and Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom, published by ASCD. In the fall, Sourcebooks will publish her book, How Your Child Learns Best, for parents to help their children with brain-friendly strategies for joyful learning.

updated 05/05/08 | 01:57 PM

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