Educator Cadre

Reading Universe is committed to understanding teachers’ needs and meets regularly with a group of exceptional teachers from across the country.

Meet Our Cadre

Selected through a competitive national process, these skilled, experienced, and passionate teachers serve on our educator cadre. Cadre members have been involved at every stage of Reading Universe's development, and they continue to help us grow by reviewing content, testing the platform, providing feedback on our resources, and offering advice on how to make the site engaging and useful for anyone teaching reading and writing. Their insights are indispensable and we are grateful for their collaboration and support.

Our Founding Cadre

“I love meeting with the Reading Universe Cadre monthly. It is a powerhouse of expert minds in education from all over the country. We have exceptionally rich conversations about the best practices in reading instruction. I know for sure that the product would be just as exceptional and most importantly, an amazing resource for teachers!”

April Valentine Third Grade Teacher Toledo, Ohio
“I plan to use RU as a resource to teach reading more sequentially. It allows me to see what skill a student struggles with the most because the curriculum is designed in sections or blocks. The site gives me clear direction on teaching the specific reading skill and provides materials I can use.”

Alonso Jaque Pino EL Teacher Roseville, Minnesota
“Getting to collaborate with other educators who are as passionate as I am about reading is a breath of fresh air! Seeing that others want to be agents of change encourages me to continue to fight for research-based practices, because I know they are what works.”

Emily Jennings Fourth Grade Teacher Wacoochee, Alabama

Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (opens in new window); the AFT (opens in new window); the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (opens in new window); and three anonymous donors.

Educator Cadre

Meet Our Cadre

Nereida Antúnez-Gamón

Literacy Specialist, Gadsden Independent School District, Sunland Park, New Mexico

Katina Johnson, M.Ed.

K-3 Intervention Assessment Teacher, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo, Ohio

Kate Noonan

CERI-certified Structured Literacy Teacher; LETRS Professional Learning Facilitator

Becky Pallone

Becky Pallone, Kindergarten Teacher, Quakertown Community School District, Pennsylvania

Masa Peterson

First Grade Teacher, Nystrom Elementary, Richmond, California

Elizabeth Quezada

First Grade Teacher, La Verne Heights Elementary, La Verne, California

Our Founding Cadre

Liz Garden

Principal, Henry P. Clough Elementary School, Mendon, Massachusetts

Robin Gleason

Reading Specialist, Bagnall Elementary, Groveland, Massachusetts

Bettina Hilliard

ESOL Assessment Teacher, Fairfax County Public Schools, Alexandria, Virginia

Johnny 'Ray' James, II

Senior Consultant, 2Revolutions, Atlanta, Georgia

Emily Jennings

Third grade teacher, Beauregard Elementary, Opelika, Alabama

Rossie King

Coordinator of Professional Development, Barksdale Reading Institute, Lexington, Mississippi

Alonso Jaque-Pino

English Language Learner Teacher, Roseville Area Middle School, Roseville, Minnesota

Tina Sansoni

Reading Specialist, Middle Paxton Elementary, Dauphin, Pennsylvania

Kim Stout

Fourth grade teacher, Four Georgians Elementary, Helena, Montana

Ann Tejeda

English Language Teacher, John Adams Elementary School, Alexandria, Virginia

April Valentine

First and second grade teacher, Grove Patterson Academy, Toledo, Ohio

“Getting to collaborate with other educators who are as passionate as I am about reading is a breath of fresh air! Seeing that others want to be agents of change encourages me to continue to fight for research-based practices, because I know they are what works.”