Sneak a peek at the literacy leaders lighting up the LitCon stage

Check back for weekly speaker announcements leading up to the big reveal of our full session lineup in September!

Peter Johnston

Peter Johnston

Peter Johnston is Professor Emeritus at the University at Albany. His research explores relationships among children’s engagement, their literate, social and emotional development, and classroom talk. Recognition for his work includes the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Literacy Association, and the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. Most recently, the Literacy Research Association honored him with the Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research and the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award for his book Choice Words. He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame. 

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Shuaib Meacham

Dr. Shuaib Meacham is an innovative educator that promotes educational outcomes that build upon the brilliance and talents of Black and Brown youth by connecting literacy research and teaching to the literacies that they love and support. He is an associate professor of literacy at the University of Northern Iowa. His teaching and research are in the areas of literacy, and teacher education, with a specialization in educational applications of Hip Hop culture. He presently runs a Hip Hop-focused summer school.

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Paul Thomas LitCon 24

Paul Thomas

Paul Thomas, Professor of Education (Furman University, Greenville SC), taught high school English in rural South Carolina before moving to teacher education. He is a former column editor for English Journal (National Council of Teachers of English), current series editor for Critical Literacy Teaching Series: Challenging Authors and Genres (Brill), and author of Teaching Writing as Journey, Not Destination: Essays Exploring What ‘Teaching Writing’ Means (IAP, 2019) and How to End the Reading War and Serve the Literacy Needs of All Students: A Primer for Parents, Policy Makers, and People Who Care (IAP, in press). NCTE named Thomas the 2013 George Orwell Award winner. He recently co-edited Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post-Truth America (Brill, 2018). Follow his work @plthomasEdD and the Becoming Radical website.

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Allyson Matczuk & Jennifer Flight

Jennifer Flight is a Reading Recovery trainer with the Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery. Recent research interests include using improvement science tools to engage in small tests of change to strengthen the implementation of Reading Recovery.

Dr. Allyson Matczuk has worked in Reading Recovery as a teacher, Teacher Leader, and Trainer since 1994. She has experience working within school divisions, government ministries of education, supporting early literacy, struggling learners, district-wide staff development, and teacher education.

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Diane Sweeney

Diane Sweeney has been an author and educational consultant for over twenty years.  The author of The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2020), Leading Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2018), Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2016), and Moves for Launching a New Year of Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2023), Diane holds a longstanding interest in how adult learning translates to learning in the classroom. Diane holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Denver and a Master’s in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After teaching and coaching in the Denver Public Schools, Diane served as a program officer at the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) in Denver. Since then, she has become a respected voice in the field of coaching and professional development. 

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Allison Briceño

Dr. Allison Briceño is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at San José State University, where she coordinates the Multilingual and Multicultural Literacy Education MA program. Prior to SJSU, Dr. Briceño was a dual language teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and district literacy coordinatorHer research explores the rich literacy practices of multilingual students and linguistically and culturally sustaining pedagogies. Dr. Briceño’s recent scholarship has appeared in The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, Bilingual Research Journal, Teacher Education Quarterly, Action in Teacher Education, Educational Policy, and Language and Education. Her recent book, Conscious Classrooms: Using Diverse Texts for Inclusion, Equity, and Justice, addresses how to use diverse children’s books in the classroom for literacy, language, and identity development. 

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Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Long Way Down, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, in the Meantime (illustrated by Raúl the Third), and Ain’t Burned All the Bright (with artwork by Jason Griffin). The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, and various media outlets. He is on faculty at Lesley University for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC.

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