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Keynote

Shauna Cotte

Shauna Cotte is vice president and senior director of professional development and a member of the senior management team. Since joining Keys to Literacy in 2007, Cotte has spent 15 years as a trainer and account manager. She began her career in education as a classroom teacher at both the elementary and secondary levels before becoming a literacy interventionist. She earned an M.Ed. in reading curriculum development and instruction from Boston College and a B.S. in education from Framingham State College. Cotte has collaborated with curriculum coordinators, administrators, and special educators to design and implement various research-based curriculum initiatives at both the school-wide and district-wide levels. She is a frequent presenter at national literacy conferences.

Presenters

Dr. Terrie Nolan

Dr. Terrie Noland, vice president of educator initiatives at Learning Ally, has spent 25 years focusing on leadership and literacy, first as a teacher and administrator, and now as a national nonprofit literacy leader. Noland mentors leaders on the latest research in the science of reading. She hosts the podcast to build a community of literacy champions.

Recognized as a national thought leader, Noland speaks to audiences about captivating stories, leadership principles, research, and best practices in literacy, which she delivers with humor and inspiration. Noland is a certified academic language practitioner and holds a Ph.D. in literacy. She is Maxwell Leadership Certified and a member of the President's Advisory Council. She also hosts the Spotlight Learning Series by Learning Ally, building communities of educators to lead in literacy. Noland is deeply passionate about advocating for children and the educators who serve them.

Sharon Marroquin

For 13 years, Sharon Marroquin served as a dual language first-, second-, and fourth-grade teacher. Now in her 19th year with Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD, she is a proud member of the multilingual education team. Marroquin works to support administrators and teachers so that, together, they can better meet the affective, linguistic, and cognitive needs of emergent bilingual students.

Tammy Black

Tammy Black brings more than two decades of experience working with students with dyslexia and their families. Her commitment to the field is underscored by extensive training at the Neuhaus Education Center in Houston and the Rawson Saunders Institute in Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½, where she earned certifications as a licensed dyslexia therapist (LDT) and a certified academic language therapist (CALT). Black has dedicated 12 years to the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Independent School District as a dyslexia specialist, dyslexia interventionist, and special education resource teacher. She has also worked at the Rawson Saunders School and as a private dyslexia therapist, gaining experience with students from pre-K through adulthood. Black’s expertise is further enhanced by her belief in the importance of early identification and intervention for students with dyslexia and her commitment to ongoing professional development for educators.

Toni Hearn

Toni Hearn has a bachelor’s degree in special education and reading from the University of Texas at Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½. She earned her master’s degree as a reading specialist from the University of Texas at Arlington. Hearn is also a master reading teacher and is currently working toward becoming an educational diagnostician. She has been part of the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD family for 29 years and worked as a teacher for 30 years. She has extensive experience working with striving readers with dyslexia, students served by special education, and emergent bilingual students. Hearn is passionate about providing reading instruction to striving readers at the secondary level to help them become successful adults. Currently, she is a dyslexia specialist and enjoys teaching teachers about dyslexia.

Maria Martinez

Maria Martinez is the special education supervisor of instructional programs at Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD. With a master's degree in special education from Texas A&M and currently pursuing a doctorate at Texas State University, Martinez brings knowledge and experience to the field. She has served in various roles, including bilingual special education teacher, behavior specialist, elementary assistant principal, special education coordinator, and special education supervisor of campus support. Martinez's expertise lies in special education and behavior, with a strong commitment to supporting both educators and students in achieving their full potential.

Suzann P. Vera

Suzann P. Vera, M.S.Ed., LDT, C-SLDS, CALT-QI, is a certified academic language therapist-qualified instructor and licensed dyslexia therapist working full time as a dyslexia coordinator in Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD. With more than 25 years in public education, Vera has had the opportunity to work with students, families, and fellow educators. Trained in both Texas Scottish Rite Hospital’s Take Flight and Neuhaus’s Basic Language Skills, she has taught children identified with dyslexia and those who struggle in language arts to read, write, and spell. She is a member of the International Dyslexia Association and the Academic Language Therapy Association. Since her own child struggled to read in first grade, Vera has become passionate about providing staff development for other educators and holding parent workshops on dyslexia identification, the referral process, intervention with direct, explicit multisensory instruction, and other resources. When not working with students, Vera enjoys playing board games with her husband and son, reading, cooking, and camping.

Dawn Rudolph

Dawn Rudolph is Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD’s district 504 coordinator and has extensive experience collaborating with schools, families, and the community to support the unique learning needs of all students. Rudolph has been an advocate for students who face adversity and learning differences for more than 25 years, and her passion drives her to educate others on the importance of partnerships between schools, families, and the educational community. She brings to life the positive impacts of collaborative decision-making committees through real-world examples from her experience as an educator, district administrator, certified mediator, and, most importantly, as a parent of two children with learning disabilities. She holds a master’s degree in education administration, K-12 special education certification, and K-12 principal as an instructional leader certification. Rudolph has a strong knowledge of behavior and academic evidence-based intervention practices and is passionate about partnering with campuses to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive in an enriching, equitable, and positive learning environment.

NeCol Roager

NeCol Roager has taught in general and special education since 1992 and has been an assistive technology specialist for Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD since 2013. Roager has a master’s degree in special education from Chapman University and a bachelor’s degree in child development from California State University. She collaborates with educational teams to develop and implement assistive technology solutions. Her goal is to help campus educational teams use technology to improve student performance. Roager also aims to build capacity and increase knowledge about assistive technology (AT), universal design for learning (UDL), multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and accessibility. She and her husband love exploring the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ area and traveling the world.

Shira Goldberg

Shira Goldberg, a Texas native with more than 14 years of experience in education, earned her master’s in education from the University of Texas at Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½. She began her career in special education classrooms and worked at the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center for the Blind before joining Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ ISD as an assistive technology specialist in 2013.

Since then, Goldberg has been part of a team that has made significant progress in accessibility in education. She lives in Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ with her family and enjoys spending her free time at her children’s extracurricular activities.

Cherry Craig Lee

Dr. Cherry Craig Lee serves as the executive director of instructional delivery and inclusion at Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Independent School District. She graduated from Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ College in Sherman, Texas, with a B.A. in sociology in 1995. After completing teacher training through the Region 13 Alternative Certification Program in Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½, she worked as a special education teacher, general education teacher, and reading interventionist at the elementary level.

Lee earned a master’s in special education with a focus on dyslexia and educational diagnostics from Midwestern State University. She is a certified academic language therapist (CALT), licensed dyslexia therapist (LDT), and educational diagnostician. Her career includes leadership roles at the district and state levels, including director of reading at the Texas Education Agency.

Lee’s professional interests include academic assessment and interventions, equity in education, teacher training, global literacy, and dyslexia. She completed her doctorate in educational leadership at Lamar University, where she researched teacher perceptions of preservice handwriting training and their implementation of handwriting instruction.