Antonio A. Fierro is a former Texas State Teacher of the Year and is currently the Vice President of Professional Learning and Academics with the 95 Percent Group. For almost 20 years, he was a member of the national LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) cohort of literacy consultants led by Dr. Louisa Moats and sits on the advisory board of LETRS 3rd edition. Dr. Fierro has contributed to several literacy curricula for English learners and is co-author of Kid Lips®, a curriculum that teaches the articulatory features of English phonemes. His areas of interest include early literacy instruction, improving the learning experience of pre-service teaching candidates, and research and practice that impacts English learners. He is also dedicated to advancing the knowledge base and understanding of dyslexia and other reading disabilities, as his son, Antonio Jr., has dyslexia. Dr. Fierro currently sits on the national board of The Reading League.
Dr. Glaser has a passion for getting it right when it comes to reading instruction, and even more so, a compassion for teachers who choose to teach in order to improve lives. Even more deeply Dr. Deb has a compassion for students who struggle with learning to read. Dr. Glaser has dedicated her career to separating the facts from the fiction when it comes to how students learn to read, and what it takes to teach students to read. She received her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with specific focus on reading and school reform from Boise State University. She is an educational consultant, author, and professional development provider with expertise in reading assessment and proven instructional methods. She was a classroom and learning disability instructor and director of a non-profit dyslexia learning center where she developed programs to teach teachers and students. Dr. Deb is beloved and well known by educators everywhere as the person who helped them understand how to teach every child to read. Through deepening knowledge and making explicit how to bridge that knowledge to instructional practice, Dr. Deb has led the way for teachers who strive to be the best reading teacher they can be. She was in an original National LETRS trainer, a policy advisor to the National Council on Teacher Quality and regularly contributes to the evaluation of university programs that prepare our teachers to teach reading. Dr. Glaser is author and co-author of five books. Her most recent contributions to the field are Morpheme Magic: Lessons to Teach Morphological Awareness; and an online reading course The Reading Teacher’s Top Ten Tools: Instruction that Makes a Difference (now in the Tools4Reading family).
Dr. Jan Hasbrouck is a researcher, educational consultant, and author. She was a reading specialist and literacy coach for 15 years before teaching at the University of Oregon and later becoming a professor at Texas A&M University. She served as Executive Consultant to the Washington State Reading Initiative and as an advisor to the Texas Reading Initiative. Dr. Hasbrouck has provided educational consulting to individual schools across the United States as well as in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Germany, helping teachers, specialists, and administrators design and implement effective assessment and instructional programs targeted to help low-performing readers. Dr. Hasbrouck earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Oregon, and completed her Ph.D. at Texas A&M. Her research in areas of reading fluency, reading assessment, instructional coaching, and English Learners has been published in numerous professional books and journals. She is the author and coauthor/coeditor of several books including "Conquering Dyslexia", "Reading Fluency", "Student-Focused Coaching" and "Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing", along with several assessment tools. Dr. Hasbrouck works with the McGraw Hill publishers as an author of their "Wonders" and "WonderWorks" reading and intervention programs. In 2019 she helped found Read Washington, a 501(c3) nonprofit organization with the mission to "provide professional development opportunities, based on the science of reading, so every student becomes a skilled and confident reader." She also enjoys volunteering at her grandson’s K–8 school in Seattle.
Melody Ilk, M.A., is a national literacy consultant with years of successful experience in schools and districts around the country. Melody has a strong history of involvement in the implementation of scientifically based literacy practices, school improvement systems, and the infrastructures necessary for increased literacy performance. Melody is an approved consultant in numerous states and guides schools through the construction of scientifically based literacy systems and infrastructures through assessment, data analysis, differentiated tiers of instruction, and shared leadership. This work with educators, administrators, and superintendents has led to significant gains in literacy achievement and instructional effectiveness in all tiers of instruction. Melody has been a LETRS facilitator since the release of the first edition and is the lead author and facilitator for LETRS for Administrators. She is also a coauthor and facilitator for A Principal’s Primer for Raising Reading Achievement, both through Lexia Learning.
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 state-wide 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 State Departments of Education and school districts throughout the nation to provide on-site technical assistance, 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.
Founder and CEO/president of The Reading League, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction. Prior to founding The Reading League, Dr. Murray was an associate professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, where she taught courses related to literacy assessment and intervention. She received her Ph.D. in Reading Education from Syracuse University, where she served as project coordinator for Dr. Benita Blachman’s numerous federally funded, early reading intervention grants. Dr. Murray is passionate regarding the prevention and remediation of reading difficulty and consistently strives to increase educator knowledge and the connections between research and practice. Dr. Murray is an experienced associate professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. She is skilled in Student Development, Research, Student Affairs, Curriculum Development, and Public Speaking.
Laura Stewart is an educator and organizational leader. She has served as a classroom teacher, building and district administrator, adjunct professor, and director of numerous professional development initiatives around the country. Before joining 95 Percent Group, Laura was the Chief Innovation Officer with The Reading League and the Chief Academic Officer for Professional Development at Highlights for Children. Laura presents nationally and internationally and has written for numerous organizations and publications, including co-authoring The Everything Guide to Informational Text K-2; Best Texts, Best Practices. She hosted the podcast "Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The TRL Podcast." Laura serves on several advisory boards and was formerly a certified LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) facilitator. Laura's position as the Chief Academic Officer at 95 Percent Group suits her perfectly, as her passion is empowering educators to positively impact ALL students and ultimately change the course of literacy achievement in this country.
Stephanie Stollar is passionate about using MTSS as the framework for helping all students become skilled readers. She’s the founder of the Reading Science Academy, an online community where over a thousand educators support each other to improve results in their schools. Dr. Stollar also advises the next generaCon of educaCon policy leaders in her role as an assistant professor at Mount St. Joseph University. She served as a Vice President at Acadience Learning, provided training and consultaCon to hundreds of school districts, worked as an Assistant Professor of School Psychology, and as a School Psychologist. Dr. Stollar believes that by supporCng all educators, high achievement is possible for every student.
Anne Whitney, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and special educator who has been a national LETRS facilitator since the first publication of LETRS. She has conducted hundreds of LETRS sessions throughout the country. She has prepared teachers to become local facilitators who provide sustainability in their districts and schools. Dr. Whitney was a member of the LETRS Advisory Board for the third edition of LETRS and supported its rollout in a pilot program in Ohio. She is the co-author of LETRS for Administrators with Melody Ilk and Dr. Louisa Moats. She has written with Dr. Moats for LANGUAGE Live! and has presented nationally on adolescent language and literacy. Dr. Whitney was a member of the clinical and teaching faculties at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus, teaching numerous university courses. Dr. Whitney has extensive clinical and teaching expertise in dyslexia and language learning disabilities in children, adolescents, and adults. Often using LETRS as a framework, she has also clinically trained graduate students in methods for assessment and intervention of children and adults with dyslexia and other language learning disabilities. She especially enjoys mentoring former students and colleagues in structured literacy.
Dr. Tracy White Weeden is a visionary leader and passionate advocate for advancing literacy as the human right of the 21st century. With over 38 years of experience in educational leadership, White has dedicated her career to creating innovative programs, building exceptional teams, and providing enhanced learning opportunities for children and adults. As the President and CEO of Neuhaus Education Center (NEC), Tracy leads with an innovative style and compassionate nature, successfully managing change and growth across a diverse constituent base. She is a true visionary, committed to improving the world through education. White’s expertise in change management, systems reform, staff recruitment and development, fundraising initiatives, and public relations guidance make her a respected leader in the field of education. White holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and is a sought-after keynote speaker and thought leader in the field of education. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, White is a true inspiration and advocate for education. She offers valuable insights and ideas on systemically improving the field of education to empower educators and all students to achieve their full potential. Get ready to be inspired!
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