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Meet Our Speakers

Dr. Robert Savage

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Dr. Robert Savage is a Professor and Dean of Education at York University, Toronto, Canada. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Head of the Department of Psychology and Human Development at University College London, UK, and was previously a William Dawson Scholar at McGill University, Montreal (2007-2017). With nearly 100 research publications, Dr. Savage focuses on children's early reading and spelling strategies, working with both typically and atypically developing children, including those with dyslexia. His research investigates the neuro-cognitive processes involved in reading and spelling. Trained as a school-based psychologist and classroom teacher, Dr. Savage is committed to making schools effective learning environments for all children. He is particularly interested in inclusive education, evidence-based classroom practices, and policy development. Dr. Savage collaborates extensively with ministries of education to design effective programs. His recent work focuses on preventing early reading and spelling difficulties, often through the use of technology.

Dr. Youngsuk Kim

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Young-Suk Grace Kim (Harvard University) is a professor and the Senior Associate Dean at the School of Education, University of California at Irvine. She was a former classroom teacher in San Francisco. Her scholarship focuses on understanding language and literacy development, effective instruction for racially, ethnically, economically, and linguistically diverse children, and helping them build strong foundations to support their success in school and beyond. Her research areas include reading comprehension, reading fluency, listening comprehension and oral language, dyslexia, higher-order cognitive skills, written composition, and reading-writing relations. She has worked extensively with monolingual children and multilingual children in the US. Her research has been supported by over $60 million in grants from the Institute of Education Sciences, the U. S. Department of Education, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Science Foundation. Her work was recognized by several awards, including the 2012 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Barack Obama, and Developing Scholar Award and Robert M. Gagne Research Award at Florida State University. She currently serves as the Editor-In-Chief for the journal Scientific Studies of Reading and the Chair of the Vocabulary SIG (Special Interest Group) for the American Educational Research Association. She serves on the Steering Committee, Advisory Board, or Board of Directors for several prominent national and international organizations.

 

Dr. Karen Harris

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Dr. Karen Harris is Regents Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at Arizona State University. She has been an educator for 50 years, first teaching 4th grade in a coal mining community in West Virginia and then teaching adolescents in special education. She is currently co-PI on three national instructional grants. Dr. Harris began developing the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of strategic instruction based on her experiences as a teacher. SRSD instruction in writing is deemed an evidence-based practice by the What Works Clearinghouse. SRSD instruction is also validated for teaching close reading for informative and persuasive writing and is now being used in content areas including math, history, and science. Dr. Harris has authored 15 books and more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and chapters for teachers and researchers. She is the lead author of Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students and a second book on SRSD instruction now in development. She has received multiple awards from AERA, APA, and the Council for Exceptional Children. 

 

 

Kim Lockhart 

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Kim Lockhart is an elementary teacher in Kingston, Ontario and an advocate for equitable access to evidence-based literacy instruction for students with reading disabilities. For the past 5 years, Kim has been using a structured literacy approach to reading and writing with her French Immersion students. She has an Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator certificate, has completed several online Science of Reading courses, and has adopted a research-based approach to reading instruction for her FSL students. Kim also has a Master of Education degree from Queen's University.

 

 

 

Dr. Donald Compton

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Dr. Donald L. Compton is Professor of Psychology and Education at Florida State University and Director Emeritus of the Florida Center for Reading Research. His research involves modeling individual differences in the development of children's reading skills and the identification and treatment of children with reading disabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 Dr. Laura Steacy

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Dr. Laura Steacy is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Reading Education at Florida State University and Research Faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research. Before her academic career, she was a classroom teacher. Her research interests include reading development and interventions for students who have or are at risk for reading disabilities, including dyslexia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Susan Brady

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Dr. Susan Brady received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Connecticut in 1975 and is a Professor Emerita at the University of Rhode Island. She has held additional positions at the University of Sussex, St. Andrews University, and Haskins Laboratories. Concentrating on topics in the field of literacy, her research has focused on linguistic underpinnings of reading development and the nature of language weaknesses for struggling readers. In addition, she has been committed to translating the implications of the larger body of reading research for practice and has conducted multiple grant-funded professional development projects.