CONSIDER YOURSELF BOOKED.
2024 PRESENTERS
Dr. Stephanie Stollar
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Dr. Stephanie Stollar is the founder of Stephanie Stollar Consulting LLC and the creator of The Reading Science Academy. Dr. Stollar is a part-time assistant professor in the online reading science program at Mount St. Joseph University, and a founding member of a national alliance for supporting reading science in higher education. As a board member for the Innovations in Education Consortium, she collaboratively plans the annual MTSS Innovations in Education Conference. Dr. Stollar has worked as a school psychologist, an educational consultant, and as Vice President for Professional Learning for Acadience Learning Inc. She has provided professional development, conducted research and published in the areas of assessment, early intervention, and collaborative problem solving. She is passionate about aligning practice to research and designing school systems to prevent reading failure.
Dr. Molly Ness
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. The author of five books, Molly serves 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 is the creator of the End Book Deserts podcast, which brings awareness to the 32 million American children who lack access to books. In 2024, she joined Amplify as the Vice President of Literacy K-5. When she is not reading and writing about reading and writing, Dr. Ness is driving her ice-hockey obsessed teenage daughter to the rink, learning how to fly fish, or hiking with her poorly behaved goldendoodle.
Dr. Steven Dykstra
Dr. Dykstra is a licensed psychologist in the state of Wisconsin with over thirty years of experience working with complex and challenging children and their families. During that time it became very evident that some of the children he was working with faced the additional struggle of difficulty with reading. That started him on a journey of study and advocacy, working to improve literacy in the lives of all children, but particularly those who are facing other challenges in their life. Since then, he has been a popular guest at trainings and conferences across the country, usually speaking about the impact of reading and literacy on child development, as well as helping teachers and others understand and sort through the statistics and science as they look for better ways to educate our children.
Judi Dodson
Judi is a Consultant for Learning and Development for the 95 Percent Group. In addition, she is a former national LETRS trainer, a national literacy consultant, teaches classes and speaks on topics related to the role of oral language in learning to read, instructional choices that can change and develop the reading brain, the role of language to reinforce foundational skill development, in addition to the impact of trauma on learning and the role of literacy to help heal. Before beginning her literacy consulting work, she worked for 20 years as a special educator in Colorado. Judi is the author of 50 Nifty Activities for Reading Instruction and 50 Nifty Activities for Speaking and Listening: for Oral Language and Comprehension. She is currently working on the upcoming supplemental reading series for developing readers called, Venture Town Readers, which will be published by the 95 Percent Group later in 2024. Judi’s second area of passion is global education for young women. She is the president of Peruvian Hearts, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, mentorship, and development of leadership for young women in Peru. Judi believes that literacy is a social justice issue, and this adds passion to her work with teachers and students.
Dr. Holly Lane
Dr. Holly Lane is the director of the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI). Her research focuses on the prevention of reading difficulties through effective early literacy instruction, the remediation of literacy skills for students with dyslexia, and methods for helping preservice and practicing teachers develop the knowledge and skills they need to be effective reading teachers and interventionists. Dr. Lane has directed many grants to support reading research and the development of teachers and researchers. She is also the author of numerous publications related to literacy, including UFLI Foundations: An Explicit and Systematic Phonics Program.
Heather Chatham
A passionate advocate for quality early learning experiences as the Early Literacy Coordinator for Grand Forks Public Schools with 22 years of early childhood experience. A LETRS for Early Childhood Educators and SEEDS of Early Learning Facilitator determined to highlight purposeful play and meaningful connections through literacy. A proud military spouse and mom of 1 that has lived, traveled, and taught across the world.
Dr. Craig Buscher
Craig Buscher, Ed.D. earned his doctorate at the University of Montana in 2014 following a 12-year career as an elementary teacher, special education teacher, and reading interventionist. Craig provides literacy trainings for school districts across the country in the LETRS professional development program and consults, coaches, and trains teachers in reading and writing instruction and assessment, evidence-based practices, MTSS, and special education. Central in this work is alignment of instructional and assessment practices to the science of reading. Over the last 13 years, he has taught literacy and special education courses as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana. Craig resides in Pray, MT with his wife Sue and their yellow Labrador Lizzie.
Genevieve Thomas
Over her 20-year career in education, Genevieve Thomas has served in the roles of special education teacher, literacy specialist, instructional coach, school psychologist, and special education leader. She is currently the Director of Professional Learning for School Services of Montana and the President of Spark Educational Consulting. Genevieve holds graduate degrees in both special education and school psychology from Loyola Marymount University, and she is currently a doctoral student in the Reading Science Program at Mount St. Joseph University. She is a member of the board of The Reading League-Montana.
Genevieve’s areas of expertise include evidence-based reading and writing instruction and intervention, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and school-based evaluations for students with diverse learning needs.
Genevieve lives in Whitefish, MT and when she isn’t working in schools you can usually find her outside on her bike or her skis.
Dr. David Parker
David Parker, Ph.D, is the Vice President of Research and Development at ServeMinnesota, where he is a leader for the National Science and Service Collaborative. He brings a background in educational research to his role in developing, improving, and evaluating educationally-focused AmeriCorps programs that are among the most effective and feasible instructional programs in the country. He and his colleagues regularly publish and present research that bridges the research-to-practice gap by highlighting the role and potential of AmeriCorps in helping advance outcomes for students and educators.
Also Featuring North Dakota
Legendary! Sessions By:
Glenburn School District
Mapleton Public School District
Bowbells Public School
Bismarck Public Schools
Max Public School
Griggs County Central School District
St. John School District
Park River Early Childhood
Grand Forks Public Schools
Bottineau School District
Westhope School District
Carrington Public School
Northern Cass School District
Dickinson State University
University of Jamestown
University of Mary
Valley City State University
FILM SCREENING
Mark your calendars for a bonus film screening of The Right to Read to kickoff the Summit on the evening of July 23rd.
The Right to Read
2024 EXHIBITORS
PLATINUM EXHIBITORS
GOLD EXHIBITORS
SILVER EXHIBITORS
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