Molly Ness is a former classroom teacher, a reading researcher, and a teacher educator. She earned a doctorate in reading education at the University of Virginia, and spent 16 years as an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. The author of five books, Molly served on the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association and is a New York state chapter founder of the Reading League. Dr. Ness has extensive experience in reading clinics, consulting with school districts, leading professional development, and advising school systems on research-based reading instruction. She provided literacy leadership for nationally recognized literacy non-profits, as well as major educational publishers.

Dale Webster is the President of CORE Learning (CORE), which provides professional learning and implementation support to schools and districts across the country. Dale brings over 30 years of experience in teaching, professional learning, research, state-level policy work and administration, and curriculum development to schools and districts across the country. Dale earned his Ph.D. in Learning, Cognition, and Development at the University of California, Irvine in 2012 where his research focused on vocabulary development for English learners. He has presented nationally on various topics related to the science of reading. Dale most recently served as a member of the California State Literacy Plan Team and the SB 488 Panel that updated teacher preparation standards for reading instruction in California. He also is a former member of the California Curriculum Commission, an advisory body to the California State Board of Education on curriculum frameworks and textbook adoptions. He is currently a member of the Editorial Board for the International Dyslexia Association’s Perspectives in Language and Literacy publication and is a newly appointed IDA Board Member functioning as the Senior Editor-in-Chief of IDA’s publications. Dale was also a member of the San Diego Branch of the IDA from 2012-2015.

Pam Kastner, Ed.D., is an educational consultant and the former state lead for literacy in Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) Harrisburg. 

During her tenure as state lead Dr. Kastner and the PaTTAN Literacy team provided the literacy training, technical assistance, coaching, and consultation for the school research sites for Pennsylvania’s Dyslexia pilot, extension, and expansion.

Dr. Kastner along with the PaTTAN literacy team lead statewide literacy initiatives which included professional learning in the science of reading and structured literacy; onsite training, coaching, and consultation; a virtual literacy resource hub; and an international literacy conference.

Currently, Dr. Kastner is honored to serve as an adjunct professor at Mount Saint Joseph University in the Reading Science Program where she teaches in the Masters’ and Doctoral Program and was honored as the Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2023.

Dr. Kastner has presented widely across the United States and Internationally. She partners with school districts throughout the nation to provide on-site consultation and coaching.

Dr. Kastner serves on the Pennsylvania Higher Education Task Force and has the honor of serving as the President of The Reading League Pennsylvania, The Reading League Journal’s Practitioner Editorial Board, and is a member of The Science of Reading: A Defining Movement coalition.

Dr. Matthew K. Burns is the Rose & Irving Fien Endowed Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida and an Assistant Director of the University of Florida Literacy Institute. Dr. Burns has published over 200 articles and book chapters, and has co-authored 15 books. He is a Past Editor of School Psychology Review and Assessment for Effective Intervention. Dr. Burns is one of the leading researchers regarding the use of data to determine individual or small-group interventions, and has published extensively on RTI/MTSS, academic interventions, and facilitating problem-solving teams. He received the 2020 Senior Scientist Award from Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association.

As a literacy-driven educator, Yvette Manns has invested over a decade and a half to improve educational practices nationwide. Through the years, Yvette has collaborated with hundreds of teachers, administrators, and school district leaders across Georgia through direct coaching, professional development sessions, and training resources. Yvette received House Resolution 821 in honor of her impact on the community in the Westside of Atlanta and has also been featured in multiple media outlets for her ingenuity in education and literature. Her career path has progressed from elementary educator to curriculum developer, and now she runs her own educational publishing company. She creates high-interest children’s literature through her company, including her series “Phonics Read-Alouds.”

Devin M. Kearns, Ph.D. is Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. He is also a research scientist for Haskins Laboratories affiliated with Yale University. Devin studies how students in the elementary grades learn to read and designs systems to better meet the needs of these students.

Andrea Setmeyer is a nationally certified school psychologist in Indianapolis, Indiana.  As the founding president of The Reading League Indiana chapter, she experienced firsthand the impact that affiliation with The Reading League can have on a grassroots, local movement to advance evidence-aligned literacy throughout an entire state.  She is honored to serve as the national chapter director for The Reading League, supporting our growing network of vibrant chapter leaders throughout the country.

Claude Goldenberg (A.B. history, Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D. Graduate School of Education, UCLA; Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education, emeritus, Stanford University) taught junior high in San Antonio, TX, and first grade in a Los Angeles bilingual elementary school. A native of Argentina, his areas of research centered on promoting academic achievement among language minority students, particularly those from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. Goldenberg is co-author of Promoting Academic Achievement among English Learners: A Guide to the Research and co-editor of Language and Literacy Development in Bilingual Settings. He currently works on promoting research, policy, and practices to enhance literacy and academic development among English Learners.