Robert T. Jiménez, Professor of Language, Literacy and Culture; Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Department of Teaching and Learning
Robert T. Jiménez is currently Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning in Peabody College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1992. At present, Jiménez is working on an instructional approach called Project TRANSLATE designed to support the reading comprehension of students who are learning English as an additional language. Students are taught how to identify information-rich segments of text that they then translate in collaborative learning groups. He has received three Fulbright Fellowships to Mexico, the Albert J. Harris Award for research on struggling readers and the Alan C. Purves Award for research most likely to have an impact on instructional practice. He was also named an AERA fellow in March, 2018. Along with Amanda Goodwin, he is currently editor of Reading Research Quarterly. He is also a past-president of the Literacy Research Association (2011-2012).

Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University

Gigi Luk is Associate Professor at McGill University. Her research on the cognitive consequences of bilingualism extends across the lifespan. In addition to investigating the science of bilingualism, Luk has examined how to harness scientific findings on bilingualism to improve educational experience for children from diverse language backgrounds. In particular, she has established a research program with a scientific goal aiming to understand the cognitive processes and their underlying neural mechanisms relevant to bilingualism; and a practical goal aiming to promote a culturally responsive environment in educational settings, cultivating respect and inclusion for linguistic diversity. These two goals guide her research program into three directions: (1) characterizing bilingualism beyond English proficiency in schools and in communities; (2) examining bilingualism and cognitive skills supporting language and literacy outcomes; and (3) establishing the neural correlates of learning new information in learners with diverse language experiences. Her work is currently supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Fonds de recherche Société et culture (FRQSC). Luk obtained her Ph. D. in Cognitive Psychology from York University in Toronto, Canada. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Center in Toronto. She was at the Harvard Graduate School of Education between 2011-2018. She joined the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in 2019.

Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas-Austin

Dr. Skerrett is a professor in the Language and Literacy Studies program area and an affiliate faculty member in the Cultural Studies in Education program area within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also Director of Teacher Education in the College of Education. Professor Skerrett also serves as Director and faculty advisor for the University of Texas Urban Teachers Secondary English Teacher Education Programs. Dr. Skerrett’s teaching and research focus on secondary English education in urban contexts, adolescent literacy practices in school and outside school contexts, transnational youths’ literacy practices and learning across transnational social and educational settings, and sociocultural influences on teaching and learning. She is the Louise Spence Griffeth Fellow for Excellence in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and she is the 2019-2020 recipient of the Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education.

Assistant Professor, ELL and Literacy Education, Department of Teaching and Learning

Emily Phillips Galloway is an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody School of Education. Rooted in her experiences as a former middle school reading specialist, Phillips Galloway’s quantitative and qualitative research explores the relationships between school-relevant language development and language expression and comprehension during middle childhood with a particular focus on linguistically- and culturally-minoritized learners. Her quantitative studies demonstrate links between school-relevant language and reading and writing performances, revealing the importance of attending to language beyond the word-level in order to support the literacy development of middle school students. Phillips Galloway’s qualitative work situated in classrooms demonstrates the potential for developing these school-relevant language skills through talk that builds on students’ out-of-school language resources (dialectal and additional languages) and that fosters agency in linguistic choice-making. With the goal of advancing anti-racist pedagogy, her work aims to positions school-relevant language as a semiotic resource for critically examining inequality, envisioning change, fostering learner agency, and nurturing minoritized learners’ socio-emotional, professional, and political aspirations. With a commitment to advancing research-practice partnerships, she has also worked with teachers, school leaders, and administrators in two of the largest urban districts in the United States. The fundamentals and lessons learned from this work are featured in a recent book entitled, Advanced Literacy Instruction in Linguistically Diverse Settings: A Guide for School Leaders (2016), co-authored with Nonie Lesaux and Sky Marietta. This book offers a blueprint for leading literacy instruction that supports all learners. Phillips Galloway’s work has been featured in the Journal of Educational Psychology, Reading Research Quarterly, Applied Psycholinguistics and Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. She is a recipient of the AERA-SRCD Early Career Fellowship in Middle Childhood Education and Development (2019-2021). She holds an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as well as an M.S.Ed. and B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.