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Home REL Southeast About REL Southeast Our Team
Our Team
Nicole Terry
Nicole Patton Terry is the Director of the REL Southeast at Florida State University (FSU), Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR), and the Olive & Manuel Bordas Professor of Education in the School of Teacher Education. Prior to joining FSU in 2018, she was an Associate Professor of Special Education at Georgia State University (GSU). She is the founding director of two university-based research entities where researchers work collaboratively with diverse school and community stakeholders to promote student success among vulnerable children and youth: The Urban Child Study Center at GSU and The Village at FCRR. Dr. Terry’s research, innovation, and engagement activities concern young learners who are vulnerable to experiencing difficulty with language and literacy achievement in school, in particular, Black children, children growing up in poverty, and children with disabilities. Her research and scholarly activities have been supported by various organizations, including the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Spencer Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation. She currently serves as president elect for the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and a member of the National Academies’ Committee on the Future of Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Patton Terry earned a Ph.D. from Northwestern University's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a specialization in learning disabilities, in 2004. She was as a special education teacher in Evanston Public Schools in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Patton Terry can be contacted at npattonterry@fsu.edu.
John Hughes
John Hughes is the Deputy Director for the REL Southeast. He currently oversees the REL Southeast’s alliances and partnerships. Prior to joining FSU, Dr. Hughes was the Associate Vice Chancellor for Evaluation at Division of Florida Colleges and the Program Director for the Florida Office of Early Learning. He has experience in educational research in all sectors, from early learning to postsecondary. Dr. Hughes can be contacted at jhughes@fcrr.org.
Jennifer Dombek
Jennifer Dombek is the dissemination lead at the REL Southeast and a Senior Research Associate at FSU. While with the REL Southeast, Dr. Dombek has coordinated multiple largescale randomized controlled trials focused on improving language and literacy skills in at-risk elementary school students in PreK through grade 2, and grade 5, across school districts in Florida and South Carolina. In addition, she has co-authored several self-study guides for implementing literacy and academic interventions in kindergarten through grade 12. Prior to her work with the REL Southeast, she managed several studies under FSU’s IES-funded Reading for Understanding grant, focused on improving literacy and language skills in at-risk students in PreK through grade 5 across several Florida school districts. Dr. Dombek has also taught undergraduate and graduate reading instruction courses to preservice teachers in the FSU College of Education. Dr. Dombek can be contacted at jdombek@fcrr.org.
Marcia Kosanovich
Marcia Kosanovich is the lead for the development of the Toolkit for Differentiating Reading Instruction in Grades K-3 for the REL Southeast. Dr. Kosanovich is also Chief Executive Officer for MK Educational Research & Practice, LLC. She is a literacy educator and researcher with over 25 years of experience teaching and creating professional development and curricula for preschool through grade 12 educators. Dr. Kosanovich has classroom teaching experience in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and third grade, and undergraduate and graduate courses. Dr. Kosanovich is the lead author of several literacy guidance documents for educators at the state, district, and school levels. She has co-authored intervention reading curricula, research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and chapters in books. For six years, she was the Director of Curriculum and Instructional Projects at FCRR, leading the review of curricula and the development of the Student Center Activities. Dr. Kosanovich can be contacted at mkosanovich@fcrr.org.
Laura Knapp
Laura Knapp leads the North Carolina Competency-Based Education Partnership and the Senior Director, Center for Education Evaluation and Research, RTI International. Ms. Knapp has extensive expertise in research, evaluation, and technical assistance in topics such as education opportunity, secondary-to-postsecondary transitions, trends in education financing, dropout prevention and recovery, college and career readiness, and education and the workforce. Ms. Knapp’s research focuses on CBE; evidence based best practices for personalized learning; and supporting implementation of innovative education models within schools, districts, and state departments of education. She served as project director for three evaluations of Hewlett Foundation Deeper Learning initiatives and performs evaluation work with the Georgia Department of Education and Communities in Schools of North Carolina. Laura Knapp can be contacted at lgknapp@rti.org.
Sarah Hughes
Sarah Hughes leads South Carolina Professional Learning Community: Emergent Literacy Partnership and is Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation. Ms. Hughes has over 20 years of experience providing technical assistance and support across the early childhood, early elementary, and parent education fields. She has worked in several capacities, including technical assistance, research-to-practice product development, implementation, and dissemination through national technical assistance centers, including REL Southeast and Regional Comprehensive Centers. Ms. Hughes has engaged leaders across and within state agencies and local programs to strengthen early childhood development and education practices and state systems, connected state and local leaders with evidence-based best practices and information, and strengthened collaborative relationships. She managed the REL Southeast’s School Readiness Partnership which focused on the development of the Professional Learning Community: Emergent Literacy (PLC-EL) suite of materials and is currently the South Carolina PLC-EL partnership lead engaged in projects to study implementation and impact through the REL Southeast. Ms. Hughes can be contacted at Shughes@rmcres.com.
Jameela Conway-Turner
Jameela Conway-Turner is a Senior Researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Dr. Conway-Turner provides research and evaluation support to programs focusing on youth development and creating safe and supportive environments for young people. Dr. Conway-Tuner’s work includes K-12 education and community and youth programs. Dr. Conway-Turner works to bridge the research to policy and practice gap by conducting studies to examine the use of research evidence, working with stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions and examining the impact of programs, policies, and practices. Her work emphasizes the importance of data visualization and writes reports for a variety of audiences to disseminate research findings. Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Conway-Tuner was a policy fellow for the Society for Research in Child Development at the National Institute of Justice working on the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative.Dr. Conway-Tuner can be contacted at jconwayturner@air.org.
Diana Sharp
Diana Sharp leads the Florida Virtual School Partnership and Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation. Dr. Sharp served for three years as RMC's REL Southeast Project Director and currently manages the REL's work with Florida Virtual School, focusing on effective online teaching and family engagement practices for grade K-5 literacy and math. She also supports the Region 7 Comprehensive Center's work with Florida in grade PreK-3 literacy. Prior to joining RMC, Dr. Sharp spent thirteen years on the research faculty of Vanderbilt University's Learning Technology Center. She also formed a consulting company for educational leaders. In 2010, she created the free Reading Machine iPhone/iPad app for beginning and struggling readers, which has been featured by the University of Michigan's DyslexiaHelp center and Reading Is Fundamental. Dr. Sharp is currently partnering with the Florida Center for Reading Research to create universal decoding and phonics support that can be integrated into every digital device.Dr. Sharp can be contacted at Dsharp@rmcres.com.
Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee leads Mississippi Adolescent Literacy Partnership. Dr. Lee’s expertise is in literacy, professional learning, and leadership. Dr. Lee has served as lead or co-author on several REL SE products. She is the former deputy director of the Just Read, Florida! office at the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) where she provided technical assistance and professional development to school districts throughout Florida for nearly ten years. Prior to joining the FDOE, Dr. Lee was an elementary and middle school teacher in Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois and served with the Illinois State Board of Education. Dr. Lee can be contacted at lllee@fcrr.org.
Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith serves as the Partnership Manager of the Florida Panhandle K-5 Literacy Partnership. Dr. Smith is the Task Lead for training, coaching, and technical support activities for the REL Southeast. He is formerly the deputy and acting director of the Just Read, Florida! office at the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) where he provided extensive technical support to schools and districts across the state. Prior to joining the FDOE, Dr. Smith was a middle and high school literacy coach and teacher of English, journalism, technology, and reading intervention. Dr. Smith can be contacted at ksmith@fcrr.org.
Heidi Goertzen
Heidi Goertzen serves as the Partnership Manager on the Alabama Improving English Learner Outcomes Research Partnership. Dr. Goertzen is also a Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation’s Tampa office. Dr. Goertzen’s work focuses on providing evaluation, professional learning, and technical assistance at state, district, and school levels. In her role at RMC, Dr. Goertzen serves as the Region 7 Comprehensive Center Deputy Director, where she supports state leaders in the region with the implementation of state-identified priorities. Dr. Goertzen has practiced extensively at state and district levels, providing leadership and expertise related to building the capacity of educators to improve and develop equitable practices and policies through the implementation of evidence-based practices. Her areas of focus include multilingual learners, teacher quality, and school improvement. Dr. Goertzen can be contacted at hgoertzen@rmcres.com.
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