Brandon P. Fleming

Brandon P. Fleming is a nationally acclaimed Harvard educator and author of MISEDUCATED: A Memoir. His story of struggle, success, and service has inspired millions around the world. An at-risk youth and college dropout turned award-winning educator, Fleming is Assistant Debate Coach at Harvard University and Founder/CEO of the Harvard Diversity Project. Fleming was recruited to join the Harvard debate faculty at the age of 27. At the age of 29, Forbes Magazine named Fleming to the Forbes 30 under 30 list. In 2020, The Root Magazine named Fleming one of the top 100 most influential African-Americans in the United States. And in May 2021, North Carolina Wesleyan College bestowed upon Fleming the honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

Brent Conway

Brent Conway is an experienced School Administrator from Massachusetts. While Brent's background and scope of work for schools is expansive, his passion is with improving Literacy outcomes for ALL students. While Principal of Lincoln School in Melrose, MA, the school was on the verge of state intervention but emerged as a 3 time Commendation School in MA and earned the National Blue Ribbon award by the Federal Department of Education for Closing Achievement Gaps. Brent currently serves on the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education's Literacy Champions advisory group, charged with developing a state's Early Literacy Guidance Plan. Brent has presented at various conferences, serves on advisory boards for various curriculum and professional development organizations and companies, frequently speaks to organizations and schools and provides professional development on implementing Tiered Literacy Systems, among other topics.

Dr. Donald Bear

Activities to Teach Children the Six Components of Early Literacy Instruction, PreK-K

Donald Bear is Professor Emeritus in Literacy Studies at Iowa State University and University of Nevada, Reno where he directed reading centers and taught at all levels. He is a former classroom teacher, and an author and co-author of numerous articles, chapters, and 17 books, including Words Their Way. He is involved in innovative professional development activities, and his work in assessment and word study is used widely. Donald is involved in studies that examine literacy learning, particularly studies of orthographic development in different and second languages. The research explores the specific sequence students follow across the synchrony of literacy learning from the beginning concept of words in prekindergarten to the morphological knowledge that underlies academic vocabulary learning.

Dr. Karyn Allee-Herndon

Supporting Developing Readers Who Have Experienced Compounded Trauma

Karyn Allee-Herndon earned a PhD in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Allee-Herndon's responsibilities as an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at Mercer University include working primarily with elementary MAT initial teacher certification candidates and PhD students in the Curriculum & Instruction track. Currently, her primary research focuses on how poverty affects cognitive development, executive function/self-regulation as predictors of school readiness and achievement, and instructional strategies (including play and physical activity) to reduce academic achievement gaps.

Dr. Annemarie Kaczmarczyk

Supporting Developing Readers Who Have Experienced Compounded Trauma

Dr. Annemarie Kaczmarczyk is an Assistant Professor of Childhood Education. Her courses taught at the collegiate level focus on enhancing preservice teachers' knowledge of working with culturally and linguistically diverse learners, as well as teaching strategies and classroom management. Dr. Kaczmarczyk has a passion for integrating picture books and other literature across content areas to discuss issues related to social justice and advocacy. She has co-published several journal articles related to using literature to engage children in conversations around these topics. Dr. Kaczmarczyk's current research focuses on teacher preparation for culturally and linguistically diverse student populations, examinations of preservice teacher identity and understanding of critical issues in education, and how to aid preservice teachers in becoming advocates for their students.

Dr. Wynnetta Scott-Simmons

Supporting Developing Readers Who Have Experienced Compounded Trauma

Wynnetta Scott-Simmons is a Professor in the Departments of Graduate Teacher Education and Curriculum and Instruction in the Tift College of Education at Mercer University. She was the 2019 recipient of the Tift College's Kathryn Futral Award for Outstanding Teaching. Dr. Scott-Simmons works from a strong belief that teacher educators have a powerful responsibility and ability to touch the future by supporting pre-service and in-service teachers in the development of their unique, purpose-filled, and passionate teacher identities. Using the Sankofian theory of looking back on their individual life and literacy lineages, she encourages students to move forward in their ability to build their personal, pedagogical bridges between the art and science of teaching.

Dr. Kenneth Kunz

Prioritizing SEL in Elementary/Middle School Language Arts Classrooms

Dr. Kenneth Kunz serves as Vice-President of the International Literacy Association and is a Board Member for Little Free Library and the NJ Literacy Association. As Director and Founder of For the Love of Literacy, LLC., Dr. Kunz coaches around literacy and language arts in schools, bridging research and practice. He is co-author of multiple texts and proudly serves on the Learning Ally Advisory Board.

Dr. Terrie Noland

Helping Students Build Metacognition by Modeling in Read Aloud, Think Aloud

Listen. Learn. Lead. Terrie uses this philosophy as an innovator and a motivator, and it's evident as she leads, coaches and mentors thousands of K-12 educators each year about research-based literacy practices. She has a unique perspective on the need to unify all stakeholders around a vision for education to smash the literacy divide for millions of students. Her daily mission is to add value to educators to help influence transformational changes in school districts across the country by addressing the needs of students and educators.

Lia Preuss

Helping Students Build Metacognition by Modeling in Read Aloud, Think Aloud

A former teacher and early childhood education evangelist, Lia left the classroom in an effort to improve the lives of children and teachers through technology. Lia brings a teacher's voice and a deep respect for child development to her role as Director of Early Literacy Solutions at Learning Ally, where she proudly manages the creation of technology that brings books to life for young learners. Lia leverages her understanding of the classroom and her experience as Senior Product Manager at Tadpoles and Teaching Strategies to deliver software that is intuitive, aligned with the best practices in education, and a joy to use.

Heather Wiederstein

Helping Students Build Metacognition by Modeling in Read Aloud, Think Aloud

Heather was appointed to the role of Vice President of Solutions Development in July 2019. She oversees the vision and development of Learning Ally's Solutions. Heather has spent the last 15 years writing, designing, and managing the delivery of learner-focused educational software. Bringing an educator's eye to every software project, Heather strives to bring Learning Ally's partners the highest quality, easy-to-use technology solutions by being keenly in tune with the educators and learners in today's classrooms. She leverages this understanding and connection to create meaningful education technology solutions that improve classroom practice and student learning. Heather started her career as a certified classroom teacher in Pennsylvania, teaching reading, English Language Arts, and Literature and Composition in grades 6-12.

Michelle Gonzalez Gerth

Cultivating a Trauma-Informed Learning Environment Post-2020

Michelle Gonzalez Gerth passionately empowers educators to cultivate more equitable and trauma-informed learning environments to support the needs of all students. She has 15 years of classroom experience and completed the PESI Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and the Trauma and Crisis Management Specialist training with the American Association of School Counselors. She has presented on trauma-informed classrooms at the 2019 National Educators for Restorative Practices conference and the 2019 Trauma-Informed Schools Wired Differently conference. Most importantly, she is a wife, mom, lifelong learner and believes that students rise when we value teachers.