Jeff Fantine is the Director of the Center for the
Study and Development of Literacy and Language in the
College of Education at Ohio University located in Athens,
Ohio. The primary focus of the Center is to address literacy
issues of Appalachians in southeastern Ohio. The Center's
largest grant project is the Resource Center for Adult
Basic and Literacy Education, which provides professional
development, resources, technical assistance, research
and leadership to adult education programs in Ohio. The
Center's two main areas of research are: services to those
with learning disabilities and other special learning
needs, and GED preparation.
Jeff
holds degrees from Miami University, Georgetown University,
and The Ohio State University - specializing in adult,
higher and literacy education.
His primary
experience prior to working at the Center was with volunteer
literacy programs, serving as Assistant Director of the
Talawanda Adult High School in Oxford, Ohio; Tutor Trainer
and Board Member for the Washington Literacy Council in
Washington, D.C.; and Program Director of the Columbus
Literacy Council in Ohio.
Jeff
joined the National Institute for Literacy's Bridges Project,
a project addressing services to adults with learning
disabilities, in 1998. He is currently a Bridges Master
Trainer and is coordinating a large effort in Ohio to
implement systemic program changes and collaboration among
service providers to improve services to those with learning
disabilities and other special learning needs.
Jeff
was the President of the Ohio Association for Adult and
Continuing Education in 2003 and is currently serving
as the Region 4 Representative on the Board of Directors
for the Commission on Adult Basic Education, the primary
national professional association for the field of adult
basic education.
Jane
Greiner is the professional development coordinator
for ProLiteracy America, responsible for the development
and delivery online courses, onsite training programs,
and trainer certification. Jane serves on the executive
committee for the Association of Adult Literacy Professional
Developers (AALPD) and trains tutors for Literacy Volunteers
of Greater Syracuse, New York. She has worked with community-based,
human service, and education programs for 15 years, focusing
on program development and evaluation. Jane holds a master's
degree in Adult Education and is pursuing a doctorate
in education through Syracuse University.
Debra
L. Hargrove is currently the Director of Florida TechNet,
a technology and distance learning project for adult education
and literacy practitioners in Florida. Known nationally
as the original provider of distance learning for adult
educators, Florida TechNet continues to evolve today with
the introduction of Moodle, an open-source management
system for delivering professional development.
Debra
earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Florida
Atlantic University in 2000 and has helped hundreds of
administrators, teachers and tutors meet their own goals
of understanding and using technology in their classrooms,
offices and personal lives.
Debra's
professional affiliations include the United States Distance
Learning Association (USDLA), the American Society for
Training and Development (ASTD), The Association for for
the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) and the
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Andy
Nash coordinates professional development projects
at the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC)/World
Education, where she develops training and resources to
strengthen the adult education system, especially in the
areas of standards-based instruction, civic participation,
ESOL, teacher inquiry, and worker education.
She currently
divides her time between directing the New England Learner
Persistence Project and facilitating nationally for the
EFF Center for Training and Technical Assistance. She
is the editor of adult education resources such as The
Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook
and Through the Lens of Social Justice, and
author of several participatory curriculum guides.
Federico
Salas-Isnardi is Assistant State Director of Adult
Education and Family Literacy in Texas responsible for
professional development for the state. He is currently
working on the design of a professional development system
which will be part of a complete adult education system.
Federico is working with stakeholders to design the components
of the system including standards for program quality,
content, practitioner performance, and professional development.
From 2004 to 2007 he was the states liaison to the
team that developed content standards for adult education.
He is training local programs in the state on systemic
professional development models focusing on the role of
the individual teacher in the system.
Before
joining the state office, Federico had worked for 15 years
in the field of adult education as an ESL and GED instructor,
professional developer, curriculum writer, and program
administrator.
He has
17 years of experience as a trainer in the field of cross-cultural
communication and cultural diversity. He is chair of Adult
Education for TESOL and serves on the technical advisory
group redesigning the citizenship test for the US Citizenship
and Immigration Service.
Jackie
Taylor is a professional development consultant. Currently,
she provides professional development services with three
national organizations:
- ProLiteracy,
as professional development editor managing the development
and facilitation of ProLiteracy Americas online
professional development
- The National
Institute for Literacy, as moderator of the Adult
Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
- The National
Coalition for Literacy (NCL), as consultant and co-presenter
on building advocacy systems at the state and federal
levels for the NCL/Dollar General Presentation Series
on Pathways to Advocacy
Jackie
was previously a professional development coordinator
for the Center for Literacy Studies at the University
of Tennessee for several years and taught adult education
in Bledsoe County.
Jackie
chairs the Association of Adult Literacy Professional
Developers (AALPD), the Tennessee Association for Adult
and Community Education (TAACE) federal-level advocacy
committee, and has recently joined the Commission on Adult
Basic Education (COABE) Board representing Region 3. Jackie
is also a founder and member of the Literacy President
Group. She is working on her doctorate in collaborative
learning at the University of Tennessee and has an 11
year-old son who is the light of her life.