Past Presenters
(2021-2025)
Keynote Speakers
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Dr. Kymyona Burk
Senior Policy Fellow | ExcelinEd
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Kelly Butler
CEO | Barksdale Reading Institute
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Lacey Robinson
President and Chief Executive Officer | UnboundEd
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Kareem Weaver
Co-Founder and Executive Director of FULCRUM
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Natalie Wexler
Author
Session Presenters
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Dr. Kristi Baker
ALL Memphis | Director of Curriculum and Instruction
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Merissa Baldwin
ELA Regional Coordinator | Journey Community Schools
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Blake Barber
Director of Academics, Southeast Region | TNTP
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Dr. Mitchell Brookins
Educational Consultant | Teacher PROs
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Julie Brown, M.S.Ed
District Literacy Facilitator | Windsor Central Supervisory Union, Woodstock, Vermont
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Lori Carter
Interventions and Referrals Coordinator | Vision Preparatory Charter School
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Margie Christie
Instructional Coach | Memphis Teacher Residency
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Kelsey Clark
Managing Director and Partner | Boston Consulting Group
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Dr. Lisa Coons
Chief of Standards and Materials | TN Dept. of Education
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Dr. Jessica Costa
Director of Multilingual Learner Support | Instruction Partners
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Caitlin Deckard
Science of Reading Specialist | The Literacy Architects
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Kimberly de Lara-Staunton
ESL Advisor | Office of Multilingual Learners, Memphis Shelby County Schools
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Nicole De Santis
Principal | Boston Consulting Group
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Dr. LaShanda Simmons Fason
Director of Early Literacy | Memphis Shelby County Schools
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Dr. Antonio A. Fierro
95 Percent Group
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Emily Freitag
Co-founder and CEO | Instruction Partners
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Dr. Amy Galloway
Executive Director and Co-Founder | PIVOT: School Improvement Leaders
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Dr. Brandy Gatlin-Nash
Associate Professor | School of Education, University of California, Irvine
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Josh Gettys
Program Director | Diverse Learners Cooperative
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Dr. Octavia Gray-Essex
Senior Education Advisor | Lexia Learning
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Chrystal Hayes
Kindergarten Teacher | Vision Preparatory Charter School
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Dr. Erika Henderson
Manager of Educational Partnerships | Collaborative Classroom
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Dr. Tasha Hines
Assistant Principal | Lakeside School District
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Dr. Melinda Hirschmann, CALT
Assistant Director for Educational Services and School Outreach | Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia, Middle Tennessee State University
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Katava Johnson
Program Director | Diverse Learners Cooperative
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Mary Kamer
Director of School Partnerships | Memphis Literacy Institute
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Dr. Pam Kastner
Educational Consultant | Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network
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Dr. Laura Kelly
Assistant Professor of Elementary Literacy | Rhodes College
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Dr. Tanya Kennedy
Instructional Advisor | Office of Multilingual Learners, Memphis Shelby County Schools
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Hattie Lattner
First Grade Teacher and MTR Reading Specialist | Memphis Shelby County Schools
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Abasi McKinzie
ESL Instructional Advisor | Shelby County Schools
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Katherine Mendez
Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Faculty Member | University of Memphis, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
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Dr. Louisa Moats
Researcher and Author
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Sara Musashe
Director of English Language Learners | Compass Community Schools
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Jamila Newman
Project Director | TNTP
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Dr. Tim Odegard
Professor of Psychology, Murfree Chair of Excellence in Dyslexic Studies | Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia, Middle Tennessee State University
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Sandy Qualls
National Literacy Consultant | Lexia Learning
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Sonja Randall
CEED Project Manager, LENA Coordinator, IMH Specialist, Professor
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Dr. Deborah Reed
Director & Professor | Tennessee Reading Research Center
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Teresa Rodriguez
Senior Manager | The New Teacher Project (TNTP)
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Magda Sakaan
ESL Instructional Advisor | Shelby County Schools
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Safiyyah Salaam
Instructional Advisor | Office of Multilingual Learners, Memphis Shelby County Schools
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Dr. Megan Salemi
Director of Education | Memphis Teacher Residency
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Jeanne Schopf, M.Ed., NBCT, C-SLDI
Pathways Towards Literacy, CORE Learning, The Reading League, and 95 Percent Group
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Amy Siracusano, M.S.Ed
National Literacy Consultant
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Dr. Allison Slone, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
Research and Language Specialist | Institute for Multi-Sensory Education
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Sherry Sousa
Superintendent | Windsor Central Supervisory Union
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Dr. Carolyn Strom
Clinical Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Literacy | New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
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Emily Taubken
Director | Memphis Literacy Institute
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Dr. Laura Taylor
Assistant Professor of Educational Studies | Rhodes College
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Seema Tejura
Founder & Managing Director | The Literacy Architects
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Sonya Thomas
Executive Director | Nashville P.R.O.P.E.L.
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April Torres
Teacher Consultant, Dept. of Exceptional Children | Shelby County Schools
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Valen Warner
Content Specialist | Memphis Literacy Institute
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Dr. Andre Warren
Leadership Coach | PIVOT: School Improvement Leaders
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Dr. Tracy White
Neuhaus Education Center | President and CEO
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Mark Wittman
Teacher | Memphis-Shelby County Schools
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Dr. Angela Whitelaw
Deputy Superintendent of Schools and Academic Support | Memphis Shelby County Schools