About the Presenters

Leah Zimmermann, Ph.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Iowa. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2022. Dr. Zimmermann teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in instruction for and characteristics of students with disabilities. Her research focuses on effective reading interventions for students with or at risk for reading disabilities and cognitive processes that underpin reading. In the initial stages of her career, Dr. Zimmermann served as a middle school teacher, reading specialist, and literacy coach. Prior to joining the University of Iowa in 2023, she was an Assistant Professor of Education at Augustana College.

Dr. Carolyn Brown has devoted her career to developing tools and testing solutions that optimize language and literacy development for all students. She and her colleagues have received support from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the State of Iowa. Dr. Brown received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in speech pathology and audiology from Eastern New Mexico University and her Ph.D. in the same field at University of Iowa. Her areas of specialization are child development, language acquisition, and the Science of Reading.

She and her husband, Dr. Jerry Zimmermann, have co-founded three companies: Breakthrough to Literacy, the Iowa Language and Literacy Institute, and Foundations in Learning. Each was organized to advance current science and create solutions to help all children learn to read. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa.

About the Moderator

Angelia Hoyer, a 34-year veteran of elementary education and leadership, has helped hundreds of teachers in her home state of Iowa become more effective English language arts educators. Starting her career off in the classroom, she then became an instructional coach and an elementary school principal in the second-largest district in the state. She coached the teachers in her Title I school to become the best educators they could be through self-reflection, observation, leading professional development, using data, and leading professional learning communities (PLCs).

In 2019, Angelia became the Curriculum Director for Clear Creek Amana Community Schools, overseeing eight schools. She continued to coach and train educators as well as oversee districtwide curriculum adoption, coordinate state standardized testing and analysis, and make curricula and virtual learning more accessible to families during the pandemic. Angelia is currently the Partner Success and Professional Development Lead for WordFlight, a literacy assessment and intervention solution for grades 2-8 students. In this role, she helps educators effectively use WordFlight to put students on the pathway to fluency.