Sacramento Presenters

Carol Jago has taught English in middle and high school in public schools for 32 years and is associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. She served as president of the National Council of Teachers of English and as chair of the College Board’s English Academic Advisory committee. She has published many books with Heinemann including The Book in Question: Why and How Reading Is in Crisis. She is also author of With Rigor for All and Cohesive Writing: Why Concept Is Not Enough and published books on contemporary multicultural authors for NCTE. Carol has served on the National Assessment Governing Board and currently serves on the International Literacy Association’s Board of Directors. She chairs the NCTE standing committee on literacy assessment. Carol was awarded the International Literacy Association’s Adolescent Literacy Thought Leader Award and the CEL Exemplary Leadership Award. She has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Association of Teachers of English. Carol is also the recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English Squire Award given to honor an individual who has had a transforming influence and has made a lasting intellectual contribution to the profession.

Cassiopeia Guthrie is committed to inspiring the imperative: courageous, creative, equity-minded, and empowered communities ready to change the world. A K-12 credentialed educator and professional journalist, Cassiopeia currently serves as the Distinguished Teacher in Residence at California State University, San Marcos, where she teaches classes for pre-service and inservice educators. She is also an award-winning theatre critic whose work has been seen across an array of publications with most recent bylines on SanDiegoStory.com, San Diego Magazine, and On the Craft.

Nearly twenty years as an English teacher, first in middle schools in Japan and since in Southern California public high schools in Bellflower and Garden Grove, Erich has dedicated his time toward providing an equitable education for students. He is teaching ERWC and ELD at Bolsa Grande High School in Orange County and leads ERWC training workshops in Long Beach. When he's not conferring with students in the classroom, Erich is pondering the challenges in public education: equitable grading practices, empowering English language learners in all subjects, and sustainable classroom conditions for writing teachers. What's New with Universal Design for Learning? A "Sneak Peek" at the Upcoming 2 Day Intensive Professional Learning

Frank Mata has been in the ELA classroom for 20+ years mainly teaching ERWC, AP Language & Composition, and a pilot course titled 12th Grade ELA: Social Justice & Equity. Frank recently co-chaired CATE’s 2024 convention and is a CATE board member. He has written for the California English journal with “Being James Baldwin,” “The Risk of the Internalization of Inferiority: a review of Dr. April Baker-Bell’s keynote address on Linguistic Justice,” and “Caught Slippin’.” Frank is an avid Pickleball player and the proud father of Benjamin 11 and Ivan 8. 

Ginny Crisco teaches courses in writing, literacy, and pedagogy at CSUF and supports professional development of teachers at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  She also works with the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum as a workshop facilitator, coach, state-wide Chair of Professional Learning certification, module writer, and steering committee member. She has been doing this work across the state and in local high schools since 2013, and this is some of the best professional work that she does! Her current research focuses on integrating Universal Design for Learning into reading and writing practices at the secondary and college level.

Glen McClish is professor emeritus of rhetoric and writing studies at San Diego State University.  He is especially interested in African American rhetoric and pedagogical applications of rhetoric principles.  

Jennifer Fletcher is a Professor of English at California State University, Monterey Bay, where she coordinates the undergraduate program for future English teachers. She also teaches writing courses for first-year college students. Her nearly thirty years of experience in education include a decade as a high school teacher. The author of Teaching Arguments (2015), Teaching Literature Rhetorically (2018), and Writing Rhetorically (2021), Jennifer facilitates workshops and webinars on rhetorical literacy skills for teachers across the country and is a frequent speaker at conferences. She serves as the Chair of the ERWC Steering Committee.

Jen Roberts is a Nationally Board Certified high school English teacher with 25+ years of experience teaching English Language Arts and Social Science and in grades 7-12. She is the co-author of Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning and a Google for Education Certified Innovator since 2011. Her interests include literacy instruction, and leveraging technology to make her teaching more efficient, and effective. She blogs at LitandTech.com.

Julia Clauson, an accomplished student writer and CEO of The Writers of Tomorrow joined the Bella Vista Writing Club in 2022. After presenting at the 2023 ERWC Literacy Conference, she was inspired to start a district-wide literary magazine. Selecting the theme of Identity, she collaborated with Rachel Nguyen and Amy Day to bring her vision to life. Julia supported and communicated with students to submit and select writing for the magazine, and she called upon her friend and artist, Ace Owen, to create the cover art. Julia plans to publish a second edition of the literary magazine during her senior year. Julia is a member of the San Juan Unified School District's Superintendent Student Advisory Committee, serves as an Equity Liaison for her school, and is the sole California Board of Education Student Representative for the 2024-2025 school year.

Lori Campbell teaches ERWC for the Kern High School District program, Kern Learn. This course is the first to receive full certification from Quality Matters adhering to the high standards of an effective online course. Ms. Campbell taught ERWC in the classroom for 10 years. She also serves as CATE Membership Chair. 

Dr. Marcy Merrill holds a doctorate in Reading and a Master’s degree in English Education. Dr. Merrill holds teaching credentials in English grades 7-12 and reading grades pre-k-16. She taught high school English for 12 years before becoming a professor at California State University, Sacramento in 2002. She works in the College of Education, where she teaches graduate students and preservice English teachers and serves as the chair of the graduate program in Language and Literacy. Dr. Merrill has been a member of the leadership team for the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum since 2005 and serves as director of the College and Career Readiness Center at CSUS.

For the last 23 years I have worked with students and young people in a variety of capacities and just completed my 16th year as an English teacher with Riverside Unified School District. I have a BA in Social Science, with an emphasis in Sociology and Minority Studies, and hold credentials in English and History.  I have a passion for developing curriculum that is functional and driven by student and teacher needs. I currently teach 10th Grade World Literature, and ERWC and support my site and team as the ERWC Course Lead. In my 16 years with RUSD I have been a full-time classroom teacher, a course lead, and a TOSA developing and adopting curriculum for my district. I have taught the entire spectrum of secondary education and have spent the last 12 years teaching ERWC. My experience with all grade levels 7-12 has given me a unique opportunity to assess and evaluate our student’s common needs and difficulties with accessing text, and translating their knowledge into thoughtful focused writing. My professional focus is creating tools and practices that provide scaffolding and release of responsibility; to give students the ability to access the curriculum and become confident readers and writers. 

A former high-school English teacher, Nelson taught English Education from 2000-2015 and is now retired from teaching first-year composition and working with faculty across the disciplines in improving reading and writing instruction. He is a member of the steering committee for the CSU Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC) and the CSU English Council. His research focuses on teaching for transfer of learning, reading and writing pedagogy, and assessment. He has a BA in English from San José State University, an MA in English and American Literature and a PhD in Composition Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rachel is a Teacher on Special Assignment for the San Juan Unified School District and Academic Literacy Instructor in the CSU College of Education. An ELA educator in the Sacramento region since 2006, Rachel first taught ERWC in 2007. She became a workshop leader in 2017 and was involved in the i3 and NPD grants for ERWC 3.0 as a coach, module revisor, and editor. In 2021, she taught ERWC 3.0 modules at Bella Vista High School, excited by high levels of engagement and excellent student writing. As a result of the writing produced through modules like The Danger (and Power) of a Single Story and The Things They Carried, Rachel began advocating for ways to publish student writing in and out of the classroom. She started the Bella Vista Writing Club in 2022 and supported a digital literary magazine in 2023. She worked with Julia Clauson and Amy Day to publish the San Juan Unified School District Literary Magazine in 2024.

Roberta "Robby" Ching is a Professor Emerita in English at California State University, Sacramento, where she taught in the MATESOL Program and was chair of the Learning Skills Program for 13 years. She was a member of the original 12^th Grade Task Force that created ERWC and has been a continuing member of the ERWC Steering Committee. Most recently, she has been part of the leadership team that developed ERWC-ELD curriculum with Integrated and Designated ELD, first for grades 9 through 12 and currently for grades 6 through 8 funded by two consecutive National Professional Development (NPD) grants. 

Tamara Rodriguez-Kam is a 29-year classroom veteran. She currently serves as the ELA Department Chair and Site Coordinator for the Achievement Via Individual Determination Program (AVID) at Buena Park High School in Buena Park, California. Her passion is AP English Literature and Composition and she has been teaching the class since 2001.  In her tenure as an AP teacher, she has also helped develop the Early College Program at Buena Park High School and serves as an adjunct professor in the Reading and Literacy Education at California State University, Fullerton.  She has served in several leadership roles at the AP English Literature and Composition Reading since 2004, most recently serving as the Onsite Assistant to the Chief Reader.  She is a College Board Endorsed Consultant for AP English Literature and Composition and a frequent presenter at the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) Annual Conventions.  Having taught her entire career in a Title 1 School that offers open access to Honors and AP classes, an area of focus for Tamara is developing strategies for differentiating instruction to meet with the wide variety of learners and skills in today’s AP Classroom.