Judith R. Birsh, Ed.D., Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), Qualified Instructor (QI). Dr. Birsh's enduring belief that well-prepared, informed teachers are the major influence on effective instruction in the field of reading and dyslexia had its beginning in 1960, when she met her first student who, although 18 years old, read poorly. The quest to find answers to this puzzle led her to a master's degree in remedial reading and a doctorate in reading and language at Teachers College, Columbia University. After training with Aylett R. Cox in Dallas, Texas, she became a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor, founding and directing the Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills courses at Teachers College in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Program in Learning Disabilities. Since her retirement in 2000, Dr. Birsh has maintained her commitment to teacher preparation by editing the first three editions of Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, and co-editing the fourth edition with Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D. Dr. Birsh has given professional development workshops, consulted with private and public schools, written articles, and worked with students with dyslexia. In 2008, she received the Luke Waites Academic Language Therapy Association Award of Service and the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from The International Dyslexia Association.
Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., CALT-QI, joined Lexia Learning in 2015 as Principal Educational Content Lead, where she spearheaded the curriculum design of a groundbreaking reading program for struggling adolescent readers. Her career includes 28 years at Neuhaus Education Center, a nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas. She co-edited the fourth edition of Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2018) with Judith Birsh. In 2018, Dr. Carreker was the recipient of the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Dyslexia Association for her commitment to excellence and advocacy for people with dyslexia.
Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D., has published many book chapters, journal articles, and policy papers on reading instruction. Formerly Project Director at the District of Columbia Public Schools site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Interventions Project, Dr. Moats is now an independent consultant and writer who specializes in the professional development of teachers of reading and writing. Dr. Moats spent the 1996-1997 school year as a visiting scholar at the Sacramento County Office of Education, where she authored and presented leadership training materials on early reading for the California State Board of Education. These materials are now required content in all of the professional development programs conducted under Assembly Bill 1086 in California. Dr. Moats received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, her Master of Arts degree from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and her doctorate of education in reading and human development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She worked as a teacher, neuropsychology technician, and specialist in learning disorders prior to her doctoral training. She was a licensed psychologist in private practice for 15 years in Vermont and a graduate instructor both at Harvard and at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont, where she developed innovative courses for teachers linking the disciplines of linguistics and reading education. Specializing in reading development, reading disorders, spelling, and written language, she has written and lectured widely throughout the United States and abroad. She has taught courses in teacher education at the Greenwood Institute in Putney, Vermont, and at Simmons College in Boston. Her publications include this text's companion workbook, Speech to Print Workbook: Language Exercises for Teachers (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003); journal articles; book chapters; a classroom basal spelling program; a book titled Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press, 1995); and a book for parents, co-authored with Susan L. Hall, Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference in the Early Years (Contemporary Books, 1999).
Kay A. Allen, M.Ed., Ms. Allen served as Executive Director of Neuhaus Education Center from 2000 to 2007 and was Associate Director there from 1985 to 2000. She is a board member of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and is coauthor of Multisensory Reading and Spelling (Neuhaus Education Center, 1993). She received the Nancy LaFevers Community Service Award from the Houston Branch of The International Dyslexia Association in 2016.
Virginia W. Berninger, Ph.D., Dr. Berninger received her Ph.D. in psychology at Johns Hopkins University and has had a career informed both by translation science (bridging basic research and application to practice) and interdisciplinary contributions to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, including instruction. As a professor at the University of Washington, Dr. Berninger has been the principal investigator of research grants on typical and disabled language learning funded by the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and also the co-investigator of a research grant on math development and instruction funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This interdisciplinary research has been informed by Dr. Berninger's prior teaching experience (in urban, suburban, and rural settings in general and special education and at the elementary and secondary levels); training in clinical psychology and experience as a licensed psychologist (in assessment of developmental and learning disabilities); and ongoing consultation with schools, teachers, and parents for more than 30 years. Her current efforts focus on evidence-based, treatment-relevant differential diagnosis of specific learning disabilities and professional development for teachers and other professionals in schools and outside schools who influence school practices.
Susan H. Blumenthal, Ed.D., specializes in psychoeducational evaluations and cognitive remediation for adults and adolescents with learning difficulties and academic work output problems. She started an innovative program at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy to train psychotherapists to work with adult patients with learning disabilities. In addition, she has trained teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University; Hunter College; and Manhattanville College.
Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech and language pathologist, a certified teacher, dyslexia therapist, certified academic language therapist and a qualified instructor. She is the President of the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas and works with the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics at the University of Houston. Elsa has spent the last 2 decades working with national research teams designing assessments and interventions for English learners who struggle with learning to read. She has a passion for ensuring that every child in schools across the world has access to a highly qualified educator who can implement effective language and literacy instruction to diverse populations. Elsa has also dedicated her time and expertise to many organizations. She serves as the Chairperson of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, she is a Past-Vice- Chairperson of the International Dyslexia Association, Past Chairperson of the Texas State Board for Speech Pathology and Audiology and Past Chairperson of the Texas State Dyslexia Advisory Board. She has also served as a board member of the Academic Language Therapy Association, Southwest Regional Education Laboratory and Texas Comprehensive Center at the American Institutes for Research. Elsa has served her local community as Co-Founder of Brownsville READS! She is recognized for her reading reform efforts at the local, state, national and international levels. Elsa has written many scholarly articles, curricular programs, and book chapters related to language and literacy development among English learners. It is her hope that pre-service teachers will have the opportunity to learn evidence-based practices for teaching literacy to all students, including those who are English learners and struggle with learning to read. Elsa has been recognized for her dedication to persons with dyslexia. She is the recipient of the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Dyslexia Association, the Dr. Luke Waites Award of Service to persons with Dyslexia by the Academic Language Therapy Association and the Champion of Dyslexia Award by the Texas Education Agency.
Dr. Cheesman, who has worked in the field of dyslexia education since 1990, earned credentials as a Qualified Instructor of Academic Language Therapists at Columbia University and is certified as a Dyslexia Therapist by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). She has presented lectures and workshops throughout the United States, Canada, and Kuwait. An active member of the Global Partners of IDA, Dr. Cheesman received a Fulbright Specialist Grant to develop Institutional Accreditation Standards for dyslexia organizations worldwide.
Nancy Cushen White, Ed.D., is a Clinical Professor at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and a member of the UCSF Dyslexia Research Center Leadership Team; she also teaches classes in child and adolescent psychiatry. Since 1973, she has used multisensory structured language strategies to teach students of all ages. She worked for 40 years in San Francisco public schools as a classroom teacher, sp
