Dr. Steve Amendum
Dr. Steve Amendum (PhD, 2008, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill) is the DCTE Faculty Scholar in Literacy and an associate professor of literacy education in the School of Education at the University of Delaware.  In 2015, Dr. Amendum won the Early Career Achievement Award from the Literacy Research Association.  He teaches courses related to literacy research and instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His research areas include early reading intervention, literacy development and instruction for English learners, and professional development for classroom teachers.  Currently, Dr. Amendum is the principal investigator for an IES-funded efficacy project to test an early reading and professional development intervention to improve early reading outcomes for English learners in kindergarten and first grade.

 

Dr. James Cunningham
Dr. James W. Cunningham is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He has over 100 publications, including books, book chapters, research articles, professional articles, and scholarly reviews.  He was on the editorial boards of Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Literacy Research, National Reading Conference Yearbook, Literacy Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Reading and Writing, and Reading Psychology prior to his retirement from the university.  He was elected Fellow by the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy, and was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the National Reading Conference.  Dr. Cunningham is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.

 

Dr. Pat Cunningham
Dr. Pat Cunningham is a professor of education at Wake Forest University.  A former first- and fourth-grade teacher, reading specialist, and curriculum coordinator,  her major interest is in finding alternative ways to help struggling readers learn to read and write.  She has written numerous books and published multiple articles focused on evidence-based reading instruction in the elementary grades, including Classrooms That Work and Phonics They Use.  Dr. Cunningham is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.

 

Dr. Yolanda Dunston
Dr. Yolanda L. Dunston has more than two decades of experience in education in the state of North Carolina. She earned a BA in Elementary Education, an MEd in Special Education – Literacy Studies, and a PhD in Literacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Her focus is effective teaching, particularly in the areas of literacy and online learning.  She has taught at the pre-school and elementary levels, provided literacy consulting for struggling middle and high schoolers, and taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University.  Currently, she is an Associate Professor at NCCU in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education. She coordinates the Elementary Education program, teaches literacy courses, facilitates the internship seminar, and supervises student teachers.

 

Dr. Jill Fitzgerald
Dr. Jill Fitzgerald is currently Research Professor and Professor Emerita in the School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She has published extensively in a wide range of research and practitioner journals, including Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Literacy Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Research in the Teaching of English, American Educational Research Journal, and The Reading Teacher.  Jill has also authored and co-edited several books, including co-editing the Handbook of Writing Research.  Her current primary interests center on conceptual complexity of vocabulary, text complexity for beginning readers, literacy for multilingual learners, and writing.  She has won the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Review of Research Award and the International Reading Association’s Dina Feitelson Award for Research (with George Noblit).  She is a former primary grades teacher and reading specialist.  Dr. Fitzgerald is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.

 

Dr. Ye (Jane) He
Dr. He serves as the coordinator of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) teacher education program and advises both undergraduate and graduate students.  In addition, she serves on doctoral dissertation committees and teaches a doctoral-level research methods course on mixed methods research.  She is actively involved in international exchange programs and works closely with international students and faculty.  Her research focuses on the promotion of strengths-based, community-engaged culturally responsive practices in education.

 

Dr. Marcia Kosanovich 
Dr. Marcia Kosanovich is a reading educator with 25 years of experience in teaching, creating and delivering professional development, and designing curricula.  She completed a doctorate in Elementary Education with an emphasis in literacy at Florida State University.  Dr. Kosanovich is the lead author of many literacy guidance documents for educators at the state, district, and school levels.  She has co-authored intervention reading curricula, research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and chapters in books.  She is the former Director of Curriculum and Instructional Projects at the Florida Center for Reading Research and Deputy Director for the National Center on Instruction for Literacy.  Currently, Dr. Kosanovich is the Chief Executive Officer for MK Educational Research & Practice, LLC and engaged in school leadership and literacy projects for the Regional Educational Laboratory-Southeast at Florida State University.

 

Dr. Mollie Lloyd
Dr. Mollie Lloyd is a retired Clinical Assistant Professor from the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She earned an M.Ed. In Reading Education, K-12; Curriculum & Instruction from Appalachian State University and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction/Teacher Education/Literacy from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  She was a Literacy Project Director at UNCG/SERVE (Regional Educational Laboratory) and Visiting Assistant Professor at UNCG before serving as Clinical Assistant Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Dr. Lloyd specializes in literacy, literacy teacher education, reading diagnosis and intervention, and early language and literacy.

 

Dr. Ellen McIntyre
Dr. Ellen McIntyre has served as the dean of the College of Education at UNC Charlotte since 2013.  In this role, she oversees five departments, multiple Centers and Offices, and a $13M budget.  She has developed several new initiatives with community partners focused on educational equity as well as a new project to transform how teachers are prepared.  Prior to UNC Charlotte, Ellen served as Interim Associate Dean and Department Chair at NC State and Professor and University Scholar at the University of Louisville.  Ellen’s scholarship has focused on reading instruction, teacher preparation, and educational equity.

 

Dr. Cynthia Wooten
Dr. Cynthia B. Wooten is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary Education.  She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Reading.  Dr. Wooten’s passion for working with students spans over 17 years.  She has worked as an elementary educator for students in grades 2-4, as well as with academically gifted students in the Guilford County School System.  While employed as an assistant professor at Bennett College for Women, in Greensboro, NC, Dr. Wooten taught and advised education majors and served the department/unit as Interim Chair.  She has also served as an adjunct professor at Winston-Salem State University supervising middle grades preservice teachers of science.