SCIRA Board Members
About SCIRA
SCIRA is a non-profit organization committed to encouraging, promoting, and supporting literacy in schools, home, and the community. SCIRA is run completely by volunteers committed to literacy. If you are interested in joining the SCIRA board, please email us at [email protected].
SCIRA is a non-profit organization committed to encouraging, promoting, and supporting literacy in schools, home, and the community. SCIRA is run completely by volunteers committed to literacy. If you are interested in joining the SCIRA board, please email us at [email protected].
Natalie Biancalana has a B.A. Honors with distinction in Education from Dominican University, an M.S.E. in Reading from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an M.A. in School Leadership from Concordia University. She also has an ESL endorsement through National-Louis University and is a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner. She has taught third and first grades and is currently an elementary reading specialist.
Debra Gurvitz, is a published author and respected educator who speaks at International, National and Local Educational Conferences. Publications include Complete Guide to Tutoring Struggling Readers: Mapping Interventions to Purpose and CCSS (Fisher, Bates, Gurvitz); Partnering for Content Reading, Chapter 6 (Ogle); Research Publications: Using video for teacher reflection: Reading clinics in action in Reflective Theory and Practice in Teacher Education; Vocabulary instruction: Struggling readers becoming Word Wizards in School- based Interventions for Struggling Readers, K-8: Literacy, Research, Practice, and Evaluation.
She holds an Ed.D. from National Louis University where she was an Associate Professor in the Reading and Language program, currently directs the Urban Campus off site Summer Reading Program and teaches the graduate clinical reading specialist courses. Prior to joining National Louis, she taught kindergarten, first, and multiage 1-2, mentored classroom teachers as the building reading specialist/literacy coach and also served as the K-8 district reading specialist in Glenview School District #34.
She holds an Ed.D. from National Louis University where she was an Associate Professor in the Reading and Language program, currently directs the Urban Campus off site Summer Reading Program and teaches the graduate clinical reading specialist courses. Prior to joining National Louis, she taught kindergarten, first, and multiage 1-2, mentored classroom teachers as the building reading specialist/literacy coach and also served as the K-8 district reading specialist in Glenview School District #34.
Kristin Kaczmarek is a first grade teacher with 23 years experience in both first and second grade. She taught for 6 years in the Bay area before moving back to the mid-west. Kristin received her B.A. in Elementary Education with a minor in mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa and M.A. as a Reading Specialist from National Louis University. She has her EL (English Language) and gifted endorsements, along with being Nationally Board Certified. Kristin has been a SCIRA board member since 2008.
Dr. Gena Lewis is an assistant professor at Benedictine University in the College of Education and Health Services in Reading and Language. She began teaching in the Reading Specialist and ESL programs for Graduate Education at Benedictine University. She currently works in the undergraduate elementary education program at BenU. She has been in her current position since 2014. She holds a doctorate from National Louis University in Reading and Language. She also holds a master’s in ESL, MEd in Reading Specialist and also Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University. She holds a BAS in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University. She has previously been a ISBE reading consultant, reading specialist, Spanish language teacher, transitional teacher, K-8 Lead Literacy Teacher and has had the privilege to teach in many grade levels in English and Spanish. She has been most active in her research by focusing on her technology for teachers, bilingual and monolingual response to intervention, standards-based instruction and assessment and cooperative structures for online teaching. Her passion for literacy and language has been a great gift to her and her family.
Deborah Shefren is an educational consultant with more than 35 years of experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and adjunct faculty member at National Louis University where she teaches graduate courses in reading and supervises student teachers. Deborah received her MA in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University. Deborah has presented on numerous occasions at the International Reading/Literacy Association and Illinois Reading Council conferences. She has provided professional development on writing, comprehension, assessment, balanced literacy, inquiry based instruction, word study, differentiation, and classroom management.