OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP

Teacher Leaders

IWP's teacher-leaders are seasoned and highly skilled professional developers and consultants. All are experienced public school teachers, have been trained in IWP leadership institutes and internships, and are credentialed to offer programs carrying National-Louis University graduate credit. Many other outstanding educators not listed here have been trained in leadership by the IWP and continue to take major roles in their schools and districts.

For a selection of books by IWP leaders, click  here.

Members of the Leadership Team – Our Steering Committee

Linda Bailey
A retired Chicago elementary teacher, writing program leader, area reading coach and non-profit program director,  Linda also worked with the National-Louis U. Center for City Schools, facilitating professional development with teachers in classrooms and leading the monthly mini-conferences.  She is a long-time IWP leader and currently co-director of school-year events and a literacy consultant.

Jan Booth
A fifth-grade teacher at Sycamore Trails School in Bartlett, Jan has led many of the writing and reading workshops that have strengthened faculty throughout Elgin District U46. She has taught courses in reading and writing for National-Louis, Aurora and Concordia Universities. She is also an active member of the Stagecoach Players theatre group in DeKalb, IL, and enjoys doing agility work with her dogs.

Pat Braun
Pat Braun is now retiring as a middle-school teacher in River Forest, where she created and co-taught a collaborative, project-focused classroom. She completed her doctorate in reading at National-Louis University and is planning to teach at a university. She is Vice-President of the Illinois Reading Council and is Co-Chair on the IWP Leadership Team. In that capacity, Pat has led many of our summer leadership institute.

Ilyse Brainin
Ilyse taught ten years in CPS, became a reading specialist and Reading Recovery teacher in Elgin, and then worked with Donna Ogle’s ARDDP project for CPS. After obtaining her administrative certificate, Ilyse served as an assistant principal in Evanston and then created an educational game company. Now a literacy coach with the Special Education District of Lake County, she presents at conferences on reading and writing, writer's workshop, and boy writers. 

Kathy Daniels
An adjunct professor in the Secondary Education Department at National-Louis University, Kathy retired from Chicago Public Schools after 35 years as a high school English teacher.  During her last five years in CPS Kathy served as co-founder and lead teacher at Best Practice High School, an innovative small school that earned national recognition.  She is a long time IWP leader.

Barbara Dress
A retired public school teacher and expert on reading and children’s literature, Barbara teaches language arts for Roosevelt University and acts as a staff developer for many schools throughout Chicago. Barbara has a huge collection of children’s books. And she is a highly experienced IWP leader.

Julia Emig
Dr. Julia Emig taught high school English in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and was a Literacy Coach for the Boston Public Schools. With the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education she provided professional development in urban districts across the country.  Julia was also a professor for the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Bard College and helped develop teacher residency sites in New York City and central California.  She is currently working as a consultant for Chicago Public Schools.

Marianne Flanagan
Marianne’s education career spans 40 years, including 26 as an elementary teacher.  She began leading professional development with the Center for City Schools at National-Louis U. She then became a facilitator for the School Teams Achieving Results for Students (STARS) program in Chicago Public Schools.  She now leads IWP workshops on classroom writing workshop and literature circles, and mentors Michigan State U. pre-service teachers in their internships at CPS.

Debra Gurvitz
After teaching many years at Lyons School in Glenview, Debra is now a full-time faculty member of the Reading Department at National-Louis University, where she directs the Summer Reading Clinic. She also serves as an NLU co-director of IWP. Debra’s 2004 doctoral dissertation: “Supporting Early Intervention for Students At Risk in an Affluent School District: Involving Pertinent Stakeholders in the System.”

Mary Hausner
Mary taught elementary school for 13 years and then became the coordinator of reading, language arts and foreign language for Elgin School District U46 before retiring. She is currently the Elgin site coordinator for reading recovery, and provides professional development and leadership support for IWP.

Judy Johnstone
After 34 years as a classroom teacher and department chair at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Judy Johnstone shifted to full time language arts consulting. While this mainly focuses on her 25 year relationship with the Illinois Writing Project, working with schools throughout the Chicagoland area, she has also aided numerous schools on improving student achievement. Currently, she is working with a CPS school to develop professional coaching teams. Judy serves as a co-director for the Illinois Writing Project.

Toni Murff
Formerly with the Center for City Schools at National-Louis University, Toni was a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher before retiring after 38 years. She now conducts workshops for the CPS Golden Teachers Program and works for Changing Worlds, promoting inclusive communities in schools through oral history, writing and art. With the Illinois Writing Project she leads workshops on writing instruction.

Mindi Rench
Currently a seventh grade teacher at Northbrook Junior High in Northbrook School District 28, Mindi also serves as a Lab Teacher for District 28.  In this role, she leads professional development workshops, works with individual teachers or small groups, and hosts labs in her classroom. Mindi leads professional development workshops for IWP and serves as our expert on technology.

Suzy Ruder
Suzy taught at-risk students to embrace their strengths through reading and writing workshop at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, IL.  A decade later she took on constructing and directing an Inclusion Program at Hinsdale Central High School, and then revamping the TPI Program for English Language Learners. Now retired from public schools, she contributes in local private and public schools. She continues to advocate for ELL students, present at conferences and lead workshops.

Katy Smith
A longtime high-school English teacher and expert in curriculum integration and interdisciplinary teaching, Katy now teaches at Northeastern Illinois University and has just completed her term as associate chair of the teacher education department there. She has authored journal articles: “Becoming an ‘honors student’: The interplay of identities, literacies in an interdisciplinary classroom” and “Becoming the guide on the side.” Katy has led many IWP workshops on writing and leadership.

Nicole Yakes
Nicole Yakes is a highly appreciated 8th grade at Sawyer School in Chicago. She now serves on the IWP Leadership Team, helping to plan and lead our academic-year programs, summer institutes, and other professional development events.

Steve Zemelman
Steve has worked on writing instruction and school reform for many years in Chicago and across the country. He helped found Best Practice HS in Chicago, plus other small schools in the city, and served on the Steering Committee of the Consortium on Chicago School Research. His most recent book is 13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment, written with Harry Ross. Presently he’s guiding development of Instructional Leadership Teams for 20 Chicago schools.

Additional Leaders Who Work With IWP

Pat Bearden
After teaching for many years in Chicago, Pat is now director of the American Family History Institute. Pat is a co-author of History Comes Home: Family Stories Across the Curriculum, and provides workshops for schools on this topic as well as on teaching writing.

Dagny Bloland
A middle-school teacher at Whitney Young in Chicago, Dagny also leads courses in English methods and teacher action research for National-Louis University and Northwestern University. She holds a Ph.D. in English education from New York University and is author of Ready, Willing, and Able: Teaching English to Gifted, Talented, and Exceptionally Conscientious Adolescents.

John Duffy
A retired English teacher who worked at Hinsdale Central High School, John now teaches in the Secondary Education Department at National-Louis University and helps lead the National Board Certification and Gear-Up programs there.

Barbara Morris
Barbara taught elementary school in Chicago for many years. She currently does volunteer work in her community and conducts Illinois Writing Project workshops.

Nancy Steineke
Nancy teaches English at Andrew High School in Tinley Park. She authored Reading and Writing Together: Collaborative Literacy in Action and with Harvey Daniels, Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles. She recently completed the professional text Content Area Writing with co-authors Harvey Daniels and Steve Zemelman.

Director

Steve Zemelman and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels founded the IWP in 1977. Steve is now the director and works on school improvement projects in schools across northern Illinois and around the country. With Smokey, he has written numerous well-known texts on writing, literacy, and school reform.

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