The International Literacy Association (ILA) today announced the results of the ILA 2022 Board Election.
Kia Brown-Dudley, director of Programs and Partnerships for The Education Partners, is the newly elected vice president of the ILA Board of Directors. Brown-Dudley, currently a member-at-large, serves as the chair of the Program Committee and cochair of the Equity and Social Justice Committee, as well as a member on both the Global and Finance committees. Brown-Dudley’s new term begins July 1, 2022, and she will assume the presidency of the Board on July 1, 2023.
An ILA member since 1997, Brown-Dudley began her career as a teacher in the New York City Department of Education. Her expertise includes leading blended professional learning, developing research-based reading programs and directing national initiatives advocating for transparency and equity in pre-K–12 education. She is the author of the family guide Read and Rise: Preparing Our Children for a Lifetime of Success and has collaborated with organizations such as Boys’ Club of New York, Reading Is Fundamental and the National Urban League in service of family and community literacy empowerment.
Through her position with The Education Partners, Brown-Dudley works with educators and leading organizations to create and deliver transformational curricula and professional learning opportunities to improve student outcomes in literacy and early childhood education.
“I am energized to take on the role of vice president,” Brown-Dudley said. “Over the past three years, I have witnessed ILA transform, adapting to the evolving landscape to meet the needs of literacy educators and advocates. I look forward to working with the ILA community as we create more opportunities to empower and give greater agency to our global constituency to achieve our mission—to improve the quality of literacy learning across the globe in ways that are respectful, responsive and ethical.”
Three new Board members-at-large were also elected for the 2022–2025 term:
Sue Corbin, professor and chair of the Division of Professional Education, Notre Dame College, OH. Corbin, a member of ILA for more than 30 years, is a former pre-K–6 literacy specialist and middle school reading teacher. She wrote literacy curricula for elementary and middle schools, founded a summer literacy clinic for readers who struggle and has presented at multiple ILA international and state conferences. Corbin is a current board member of ILA’s Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group, which she previously chaired. She has been a member of the editorial board of the group’s journal, The Dragon Lode, in addition to a member and chair of the group’s Notable Books for a Global Society committee.
Rebecca Silverman, associate professor of early literacy, Stanford Graduate School of Education, CA. Silverman, an ILA member since 2001, began her career as an elementary school teacher in New Orleans, LA. She has presented at numerous ILA conferences and served as a contributor to and editorial review board member for ILA’s The Reading Teacher and Reading Research Quarterly journals. At Stanford, where Silverman leads the Language to Literacy Research Lab, she focuses on research and practice related to literacy development and instruction of early childhood and elementary-age children from diverse backgrounds. She has also worked in teacher education and professional development across the United States and internationally.
Jeanette Toomer, 12th-grade English language arts teacher, Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health & Science Charter School, Bronx, NY. Toomer, an ILA member since 2015, has been teaching English language arts and literature, primarily in New York high schools, since 2001 and has written curricula for 10th through 12th grades. In addition, she served as a staff developer for schools and educational corporations and as a composition professor in local colleges.
Brown-Dudley, Corbin, Silverman and Toomer were elected by ILA’s membership during the ILA 2022 Board Election, which was conducted online between March 28, 2022, and May 6, 2022. The new vice president and members-at-large will begin their terms on July 1, 2022.