Facilitators and staff
Meet the professionals and book-lovers that have come together to share books with you!
Meet the professionals and book-lovers that have come together to share books with you!
Sherie Abbey
Sherie Abbey is a First Grade Teacher in Miami, FL at Westminster Christian School. She has over 30 years of teaching experience. Every year she reads Charlotte's Web to her class and every year she tears up at Chapter XXI, "Last Day."
Heather Altena
Heather Altena is an English teacher and PS- 12 librarian at Southwest Chicago Christian Schools. She discovered The Hobbit in 4th grade, and it sparked a lifelong love of fantasy literature.
Dr. Nalline Baliram
Nalline Baliram teaches in the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University.
Xu Bian
Xu Bian is an assistant professor at Seattle Pacific University, Language, Cultures and Linguistics. She grew up reading the stories about Monkey King, a classic in Chinese literature.
Amy Boerman-Cornell
Amy Boerman-Cornell: Ms. ABC teaches 4th grade in Illinois. When she was in 4th grade, she read anything that was part of a series, in hopes of not ever running out of reading material!
Miranda Clark
Mandy Clark is a school librarian at the Episcopal School of Knoxville in Tennessee.
Amy Danusiar
Amy Danusiar is the Youth Services Librarian for the Carol Stream Public Library .
Madeline Danusiar
Madeleine Danusiar is a CBT in Spokane WA, working with young kids with autism. She has also worked as high school teacher in special education.
Steven Dexheimer
Steven Dexheimer is a Youth Services Associate at the Carol Stream Public Library. Although he can't remember his favorite book in 4th grade, he was an avid reader of children's nonfiction at the time. So much so that when he once plopped down 20 presidential biographies on the check-out counter during the summer, a librarian asked him if he was somehow being punished or in summer school!
Liz Duarte
Liz Duarte is a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University. When she was in 4th to 6th grade she loved the poetry of Robert Frost.
Liz Ebersole
Liz Ebersole is a Doctoral student in Digital Education Leadership at Seattle Pacific University. Liz's favorite book from 4th-6th grade was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor.
Dr. Cher Edwards
Cher Edwards is a Professor of Counselor Education at Seattle Pacific University and currently trains school counselors. She enjoys utilizing “bibliotherapy” techniques within her counseling practice to encourage a love of reading with social emotional learning. As a fourth grader, she loved the Ramona the Pest series.
Lara Flynn
Lara Flynn taught mostly middle school for 26 years and now supervises student teachers for Seattle Pacific University. She has a passion for young adult literature and one of her favorite books for this age is Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt.
Damaris Garcia-Thompson
Damaris Garcia-Thompson is originally from Puerto Rico. She is a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University seeking a teaching certificate in K-12 with endorsements in Spanish and ELL. In 4th and 5th grade she read mostly nonfiction books and her favorite book is one about the history of her father's village in Spain. She felt so much pride reading about her family. Not everyone can trace their roots back to the settlers of a village in 1086!
Manya Glavach
Manya Glavach has been the Media Specialist at Westminster Christian School in Miami, FL for the past 5 years. Her favorite books for 4th-6th graders (besides the ones we will be reading in club) have been Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, Holes by Louis Sachar and Refugee by Alan Gratz. When she was in 4th-6th grade, you would find her reading the whole Nancy Drew series!
Dr. Kristine Gritter
Kristine Gritter is the literacy chair at Seattle Pacific University. She devoured the Anne of Green Gables series in 4th through 6th grade.
Dr. Robin Henrikson
Robin Henrikson is an assistant professor at Seattle Pacific University and has three kids: 13, (almost) 12, and 8. She read just about every single Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew book throughout 4th through 6th grade.
Emily Huff
Emily Huff is on faculty in the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University and also serves as the Field Placement Director. She has fond memories of her mom reading the Narnia series out loud to her in elementary school, and she loved it so much that she named her dog Tumnus when she was in 4th grade.
Patrick McAndrew
Patrick McAndrew is a fifth grade teacher in Oak Park Illinois - just west of Chicago, Illinois. His students are passionate readers and have enjoyed many great pieces of literature this year. Two of our favorites were Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly and Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina. We love books with diverse characters that students can connect and relate to.
Kimberly Montgomery
Kimberly Montgomery enjoys reading picture books and YA novels but some of her favorites include Charlotte's Web, The Secret Garden and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
Jennifer Norton
Jennifer Norton is a Instructor/Director in Teacher Ed at Seattle Pacific University and a previous school psychologist
Dr. Jorge Preciado
Jorge Preciado is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education and the Chair of Special Education at Seattle Pacific University
Dr. Jiang Pu
Dr. Jiang Pu is a passionate educator and researcher with 10+ years’ of experience teaching in universities and mentoring K-12 teachers. She is currently an international consultant for the Ministry of Education in Vietnam for their Renovating General Education Project. In fifth grade She loved to read O.Henry's short stories and classical Chinese novels such as Journeying to the West.
Adrienne Reeder
Adrienne Reeder has been teaching elementary for over 15 years and teaches 3rd grade in public school in Miami, Florida. She feels books open a world of possibilities, and is passionate about sharing books with kids of all ages.
Nicole Rule
Nicole Rule is a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University.
Mary Jo Staal
Mary Jo Staal is the elementary school librarian at Hudsonville Christian School in Hudsonville, Michigan. She is passionate about connecting children to great books. Stuart Little will forever be the first book that connected her to the wonderful world of reading.
Cynthia Strong
Cynthia Strong is the Educational Librarian at Seattle Pacific University. When she was young she loved Winnie the Pooh and The Phantom Tollbooth.
Dr. Deb Van Duinen
uinen loved reading any and all books by Jean Little, beloved Canadian author who lived in Deb's hometown, Guelph, Ontario. She's an associate professor of English Education at Hope College in beautiful Holland, MI and has four pretty amazing kids.
Orlala Wentink
Orlala Wentink is a Digital Education Leader in Seattle, WA. She is an alumni of Seattle Pacific University.
Elizabeth Woods
Elizabeth Woods is a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg had a big influence on her as a 4th through 6th grader.