Supporting Newcomers in Your District: 10 Principles to Unpack

About the Presenters

Viviana Hall is a native of Colombia who started her career as an English learner herself. She has become a passionate voice representing language learners through many professional roles. She is the author of the VIDA Book, which is 100 percent dedicated to supporting teachers of multilingual learners by aiming to end the teacher shortage in bilingual education. Viviana’s approach is to strengthen the bond between theory and practice, creating a bridge that makes practical applications tangible. She is the former Executive Director of Academic Community in the College of Education of East Texas A&M University in Dallas. She has been a Text Reviewer for the Texas Education Agency, TEA, a Multicultural IBP Award judge, and a subject matter expert. Viviana has been the principal researcher designing instructional strategies as well as curriculum and standard alignments for companies and organizations that have been pioneers in leading innovations for literacy programs in English and Spanish.

Lori Lynch has a mission to bring effective and engaging learning to educators in all settings and styles. After 11 years as an early childhood classroom teacher and school leader, Lori took a leap of faith into the world of professional learning and educational technology. Since then, and for the past 20 years, her mission for professional learning has been to provide relevant and effective learning and coaching opportunities for the 21st century educator. Lori believes that the main goal in the ever-evolving needs of professional learning is that the content must be fun, interactive, focused on best practices, cutting-edge technological advances, and meet educators where they are in the world today. As the Vice President of Professional Learning at Britannica Education, her approach to global learning is done with purpose. A major focal point for her is that educators everywhere receive consistent, trusted, and well-researched approaches to pedagogy in today’s classrooms.

After a multi-decade career in bilingual education and district leadership, Cris Dixon began working as a professional learning consultant in the edtech industry across the United States with all levels of educators, from classroom teachers to state-level administrators. She is committed to serving educators through meaningful onsite and virtual learning opportunities and professional development on the importance of data-driven instruction and evidence-based instructional strategies that impact student growth and lead to academic success for all students. Cris is a passionate educator with expertise in literacy, biliteracy, and dual language instruction who serves as a Customer Experience Manager in the Professional Learning Team at Britannica Education. Her education includes an undergraduate degree in general education K-8 with a bilingual certification and a master’s in reading from Texas A&M Commerce.