Rupen Fofaria is a storyteller at EDNC.org, where he examines how education policy shows up in classrooms and impacts teachers, students, and families. Rupen has invested much of his time since 2019 reporting stories about literacy instruction in North Carolina. His stories about the body of research on how kids learn to read take readers inside classrooms, advance student and family narratives, explore challenges for early reading teachers, and study best practices in colleges of education. Prior to joining EdNC, Rupen was an attorney in Raleigh and Chicago, practicing start-up and intellectual property law. In his (much) younger days, he was a sports writer for ESPN.com, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the Orlando Sentinel. Rupen’s passion is shining light on untold and underreported issues.

Further Resources and Rupen’s Picks:

• Rupen Fofaria and his reporting
• Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert by Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle, and Kate Nation
• Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark Seidenberg
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Tristan Strong Series by Kwame Mbalia
• Theories of Adolescent Development by Barbara M. Newman and Philip R. Newman
• Y Guides
• “Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation, comes action.“ Tupac Shakur

Deborah is an education attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area currently representing families and students against school districts throughout Northern California. She is extremely passionate about her work and the rights of children with disabilities and children who are disproportionally affected by the failures of public schools. Deborah is an active member of the educational community and works with parents, teachers, administrators, service providers and local organizations to support the needs of vulnerable youth.

Deborah has spent her entire legal career working on behalf of children. As a law student she worked as a legal intern and special education advocate for Disability Rights California and Bay Area Legal Aide, then quickly became the managing associate at a special education law firm in the District of Columbia where she represented low-income families in court appointed special education cases. Prior to relocating back to the Bay Area, Deborah co-founded The School Justice Project (“SJP”), a legal services and advocacy organization serving older students with special education needs who are involved in Washington DC’s justice system. In 2013 Deborah started her own practice in Berkeley, California, Jacobson Education Law (“JEL”). In addition to her private practice, Deborah has worked as both co-counsel and of counsel for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (“DREDF”), and she currently serves as Of Counsel for The East Bay Community Law Center in their Education Justice Clinic.

Deborah has effectively and compassionately represented hundreds of clients in special education matters. She is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences and provides trainings to local advocacy and parent groups.

Further Resources and Deborah’s Picks:

• More on the class action lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
• The School Justice Project
• East Bay Community Law Center
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Audie Alumbaugh received her master’s degree in special education but has been an unpaid advocate for Arkansas children for over 10 years. Her passion began when teaching mathematics and recognizing that middle school and high school students were unable to perform at the potential when “word problems” were presented to them. it did not take long after that for her to realize the reading crisis in Arkansas. When her faculty position at the University of Central Arkansas and her advocacy for children resulted in what public school superintendents referred to as a “conflict of interest,” Audie left her faculty position knowing children’s education is more important and much more urgently needed. Audie has advocated for thousands of children and attended thousands of 504 and IEP meetings around the state as well as several outside of her home state. In 2015 Audie founded the Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group and funded its activities herself. Audie works tirelessly with the Arkansas legislature. Through her work several laws have been enacted strengthening public schools’ responsibility in identifying children with dyslexia and providing proper science-based intervention. Audie has assisted advocates in other states and worked to strengthen their laws as well.

This is a labor of love for Audie.

Further Resources and Audie’s Picks:

• More on Audie’s Work
• Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group (75 Taylor Circle, Conway, AR 72032)
• Arkansas Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (R.I.S.E.) resources
• PBS NewsHour segment highlighting Arkansas and Audie’s work
• Blueprint for a Literate Nation; How You Can Help by Cinthia Coletti
• An Uphill Climb by Dave Sargent
• "To whom much is given, much will be required" (Luke 12:48)

Kelly Butler is the Chief Executive Officer of The Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI). The Institute’s literacy work encompasses early childhood, parenting, professional development for teachers, teacher preparation, and developing literacy leaders.

Ms. Butler is the author of two statewide studies and developed a subsequent statewide initiative to improve teacher preparation programs focused on early literacy instruction in Mississippi’s 15 public and private universities.

A former high school teacher in the Greenwich, Connecticut Public Schools, Ms. Butler holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a master’s degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University. She served by appointment to the Governor’s Task Force on Teacher Preparation for Early Literacy Instruction and the State Reading Panel and, most recently, the Governor’s Task Force on Educator Workforce Development.

Kelly has leveraged the Institute’s successful track record to initiate several multi-organization and multi-state initiatives, including The Big Dippers Short Course in the Science of Reading for Teach For America’s National Summer Institute, The Path Forward: Bringing the Science of Reading to Teacher Preparation Programs and Licensure, and a twenty-member national team of reading experts to review the teacher preparation programs in a neighboring state.

Kelly is frequently called upon to tell the story of Mississippi’s literacy challenges and successes, and as more states are responding to the literacy instruction crisis, BRI has provided consultation to a number of legislative and philanthropic groups from various states.

Kelly is the recipient of The Reading League’s 2021 Benita Blachman award, for advancing evidence to practice.

Ms. Butler lives in Jackson, Mississippi with her husband, Thorne. They have five daughters.

Further Resources and Kelly’s Picks:

• Barksdale Reading Institute
• Reading Universe
• Parents for Public Schools
• Emily Hanford’s APM Reports
• The Hunt Institute
• Reach Out and Read
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• Travels with Charley; In Search of America by John Steinbeck
• Books by Wallace Stegner
• The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
• Middlemarch by George Eliot

Shawn Anthony Robinson Ph.D.is co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude and serves on the inaugural advisory council of Benetech. Robinson has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and received several distinguished honors throughout his career, including the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award/New Trier High School Alumni Hall of Honor; the 2016 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from University of Wisconsin; and “Educator of the Year” from All-State Insurance (Chicago) 2005. Robinson is a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Further Resources:

• Dr. Robinson’s website
• Word Analysis Course developed by Shawn Robinson for the Learning Differences Innovation Center @ Madison College
• Blog about the pilot course at Madison College
• Dr. Dyslexia Dude website

Dr. Robinson’s Scholarly Work:

• Robinson, S. A. (2018). A study designed to increase the literacy skills of incarcerated adults. The Journal of Correctional Education, 69(1), 60–72.
• Robinson, S. A. (Ed.) (2018). Untold narratives: African Americans who received special education services and succeeded beyond expectations. Information Age Publishing.
• Robinson, S. A. (2020). Culturally responsive representation in graphic novels matter for African American boys with reading disability. Journal of African American Males in Education, 11(1), 23–36.
• Robinson, S. A., & Thompson, C. L. (2019). Promoting academic readiness for African American males with dyslexia: Implications for preschool to elementary school teaching. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 35(1),1–64. [Invited to reprint in an edited book with Routledge].
• Robinson, S. A. (2019). Critical literacy impacts African American boys’ reading identity. Gifted Child Today, 42(3), 150–156.

Dr. Tracy Weeden is a seasoned and passionate leader dedicated to advancing literacy and academic excellence for children and adults. With an Ed.D in Educational Leadership, Tracy has spent her career creating and building innovative programs, systems, and teams focused on providing enhanced learning opportunities and exceptional outcomes for students.

Tracy is a true visionary when it comes to improving the world through education. Her innovative style of leadership, combined with her compassionate and engaging nature, enables her to successfully manage change and growth across a diverse constituent base including Boards of Trustees, donors, staff, parents, teachers, educational partners, and students.

In her current role as President and CEO of Neuhaus, she provides leadership and support in the areas of financial management, recruitment and development of staff, fundraising initiatives, initiating and furthering relationships with NEC partners, and guidance of professional and public relations.

Prior to joining Neuhaus, Tracy was the Executive Director of Academic Planning with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Intervention Services Group (a division recently acquired from Scholastic Achievement Partners). In this capacity, Dr. Weeden provided executive consulting nationally on the development of systems that helped school districts improve student achievement and address barriers to rigorous, relevant learning. Prior to Scholastic Achievement Partners, she spent more than five years as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Houston Independent School District.

Additional Resources:

• Neuhaus Education Center
• The Science of Reading: A Defining Movement

Tracy’s Picks:

• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• When to Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People by Gary Thomas
• Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division by Anthony Muhammad
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Making Obama (interview) by Jenn White
• Making Obama: Bonus (interview) by Jenn White
• Making Oprah (interview) by Jenn White