Orthographic Mapping: How to Make Words Stick

About the Presenters

Dr. Molly Ness, a former classroom teacher, has extensive experience in reading clinics, consulting with school districts, leading professional development, and advising school systems on research-based reading instruction. Her research and writing focus on teacher knowledge, comprehension, and dyslexia. She spent 17 years as a professor at Fordham University and is the author of five books and numerous articles. Dr. Ness serves on the board of the New York chapter of the Reading League and on the New York City Mayor’s Literacy Advisory Council.

Katharine Pace Miles, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Advanced Certificates in Reading Science at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Miles is the author of Reading Ready, Reading Ready for Whole Phonics, and Making Words Stick, and she is the Academic Advisor for Reading Go. Dr. Miles is the Co-founder and Principal Investigator of CUNY Reading Corps, which improves preservice teacher training and provides free, high-dosage tutoring to over 2,300 historically underserved NYC students per year. Dr. Miles is also the Founder and President of The Reading Institute, which brings free, evidence-based tutoring programs to striving readers across the country and provides reading-science-aligned professional development to teachers.

Dr. Amanda Alexander serves as Scholastic’s Chief Academic Officer. In this role, she leads research and validation efforts to ensure the efficacy of products, the delivery of professional learning services, and the company’s partnership with the Yale Child Study Center, focusing on the intersection of literacy and health. Prior to joining Scholastic, Dr. Alexander served as the Vice President of Policy and Partnership Development at Teachstone. With more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience, the majority of Dr. Alexander’s service has been as a practitioner in the public sector. She has a B.A. in English and an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from Howard University, an M.S.Ed. in educational leadership from Baruch College, and a Ph.D. in education from American University.