A seasoned teacher educator and literacy specialist, Dr. Mira-Lisa Katz has conducted research focused on teacher professional learning and literacy education at the secondary and post-secondary levels for 30+ years. She enjoys developing tools and curriculum for student and teacher learning in face-to-face and digital environments and sharing information about research and practice with the field for a variety of audiences. Special projects include serving as one of WestEd’s content specialists for the NAEP 2026 Reading Framework and as co-chair of the CASEL SEL Providers Association (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). Before returning to WestEd in 2016, Mira was a professor of English at Sonoma State University (2002-2016). While at SSU, she co-authored the California State University’s evidence-based Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC), now taught in over half of California’s high schools. Mira has received honors and awards for her literacy and arts education research. Editor of a 2013 book on multimodal learning (Moving Ideas: Multimodal and Embodied Learning in Communities and Schools), she also served from 2018-2020 as co-editor of the “Leading Literacy Change” column for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Mira earned a PhD and MA in language, literacy, and culture from UC Berkeley, an MFA in dance and creative practice from Saint Mary’s College of California, and a BA in French and linguistics from Mills College.