Julie Nora is Director of the International Charter School (ICS) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Prior to leading ICS, Julie worked as a teacher of ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) in K-12 settings and as an applied researcher at the Education Alliance at Brown University.
Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor of language, literacy, and culture and faculty associate in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Duke received her Bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University. Duke's work focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include development of informational reading and writing in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. She currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator on projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. Duke is the recipient of the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award, the Literacy Research Association Early Career Achievement Award, the International Reading Association Dina Feitelson Research Award, the National Council of Teachers of English Promising Researcher Award, and the International Reading Association Outstanding Dissertation Award. Nell is author and co-author of numerous journal articles and book chapters as well as the books Reading and Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades: Research-Based Practices; Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five; Beyond Bedtime Stories: A Parent's Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing, and Other Literacy Skills From Birth to 5; and her most recent book, Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K - 8 Classrooms. She is also editor of The Research-Informed Classroom book series, co-editor with Ellin Keene of the Not This But That book series, and co-editor of the book Literacy Research Methodologies. Duke teaches preservice, inservice and doctoral courses in literacy education, speaks and consults widely on literacy education, and is an active member of several literacy-related organizations. She has served as author and consultant on a number of educational programs, including Buzz About IT, iOpeners, National Geographic Science K-2 and the DLM Express. Duke also has a strong interest in improving the quality of educational research training in the U.S. Nell is currently overseeing IRA's Literacy Research Panel blog, which you can follow here: http://www.reading.org/general/Publications/blog/LRP
Ellin Oliver Keene has been a classroom teacher, staff developer, nonprofit director, and adjunct professor of reading and writing. She currently works with schools and districts throughout the country and abroad with a focus on long-term, school-based professional development and strategic planning for literacy learning. For sixteen years she directed staff development initiatives at the Denver-based Public Education & Business Coalition. She worked as Deputy Director and Director of Literacy and Staff Development for the Cornerstone Project at the University of Pennsylvania for four years. Ellin currently serves as senior advisor at Heinemann, which includes overseeing the Heinemann Fellows initiative. Ellin's newest book is Engaging Children: Igniting a Drive for Deeper Learning, K-8. Among her many other publications, she is the coauthor of Mosaic of Thought and Comprehension Going Forward, author of Talk About Understanding and To Understand, and co-editor of The Teacher You Want to Be and Heinemann's popular Not This, But That series. She is also the author of numerous chapters for professional books and education policy journals on the teaching of reading. Ellin is a Heinemann PD provider, presenting One-Day Workshops, Webinars Series, and all forms of On-Site PD. She is most sought after for her long-term professional development residencies in partnership with Heinemann Professional Development. Click here for an overview of the Keene Residency. Listen to Ellin and Tom Newkirk reflect on the 20th anniversary of Mosaic of Thought on The Heinemann Podcast. Follow Ellin on Twitter @EllinKeene.
Jana Echevarria, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita at California State University, Long Beach where she was selected as Outstanding Professor in 2005. She has taught in elementary and secondary in special education, ESL, and bilingual programs. A founding researcher of the SIOP Model, Dr. Echevarria's research focuses on effective instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities. Her publications include over 60 books, book chapters, and journal articles. She has presented her research in the U.S. and internationally, including at Oxford University (England), Wits University (South Africa), Harvard University (U.S.), Stanford University (U.S.), University of Barcelona (Spain), and South East Europe University (Macedonia) where she was a Fulbright Specialist. Currently she serves as the ELL expert for the U.S. Department of Justice on the Lau v. SFUSD case.
