Lucy Calkins is Founding Director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, the Robinson Professor of Children's Literature at Teachers College, and the Director of the Literacy Specialist Program at Teachers College. She is the author of many books on the teaching of reading and writing, including two foundational texts: The Art of Teaching Reading and The Art of Teaching Writing. Her other publications include One-to-One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers, A Principal's Guide to Leadership in the Teaching of Writing (co-authored with Laurie Pessah), and the series Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum, Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grades 3-5, and the recently released sister series, Units of Study for Teaching Reading: A Curriculum for the Reading Workshop, Grades 3-5 (co-authored with Kathleen Tolan and Mary Ehrenworth). Calkins is also the series editor of The Workshop Help Desk.
Anna Marie Carillo was the former superintendent of District 2 in New York City, and the former principal of PS 116 in Manhattan. Anna Marie supports principals throughout New York City in bringing about school-wide reform.
Mary Ann Colbert is the former Director of Literacy for Region 1 (Districts 9 and 10) in the Bronx, and was previously a teacher, a Reading Recovery teacher, and a staff developer before coming to the Project. Mary Ann does consulting work in Buffalo, NY and Florida in addition to leading a study group for Assistant Principals, and a specialty course on guided reading.
Mary Ehrenworth is Deputy Director for Middle Schools at the Project. She is the author of Looking to Write and co-author of The Power of Grammar as well as two books in the recently released series, Units of Study for Teaching Reading: A Curriculum for the Reading Workshop, Grades 3-5: Tackling Complex Texts and Constructing Curriculum. Mary is a frequent keynote speaker at Project events and national conferences. She oversees the Project's work with middle school teachers, coaches, and principals and plays a leadership role with AssessmentPro.
Carmen Farina was the Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning of the New York City Department of Education, and is the co-author of A School Leader's Guide to Excellence with Laura Kotch. She has also been a regional and district superintendent as well as a principal, and has in-depth experience helping schools make the changes they need to achieve excellence. She currently works with principals to improve school-wide teaching and learning.
Amanda Hartman is Lead Coach at the Project and co-directs the Project's work with ELLs. Amanda has co-authored three books with Lucy Calkins: Authors as Mentors, The Conferring Handbook and One-to-One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers, as well as a CD-ROM: Conferring with Young Writers. Amanda co-leads a K-5 Coaching Group, and leads think tanks on support language comprehension in classrooms which brim with ELLs.
Laura Kotch is the co-author of A School Leader's Guide to Excellence. Laura held many positions in the New York City public schools, most recently as Executive Director of Professional Development and Curriculum. Laura currently works with the TCRWP to help principals create structures to improve school-wide teaching and learning.
Beth Neville is the co-author of the DVD Resources for Primary Writing with Lucy Calkins and is the Associate Director at the Project where she oversees technology, finances, and special projects.
Laurie Pessah is Senior Deputy Director of the Project. As a former principal, director of literacy and staff developer, Laurie works with teachers and administrators throughout New York City and the country, as well as spearheading the Project's assessments and Assessment Pro. Laurie has co-authored two books with Lucy Calkins, Non-Fiction Reports and Procedures in Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum and most recently, A Principal's Guide to Leadership in the Teaching of Writing.
Kathleen Tolan is Senior Deputy Director at the Project. Kathleen's teacher education work in schools has created demonstration sites for the Project, and she has been a mentor to many Project leaders. Kathleen is co-author with Lucy Calkins of Building a Reading Life, Following Characters into Meaning and Navigating Nonfiction in the series Units of Study for Teaching Reading: A Curriculum for the Reading Workshop, Grades 3-5. She oversees the Project's Coaching and Leadership Groups.
Leslie Zachman is co-author of The Author Studies Handbook (Grades K-8) with Laura Kotch and currently works with principals and administrators building consistency in instruction and supporting school-wide change. She is former superintendent of District 1, and former principal of PS 59 in Manhattan.