MEET THE FACULTY
Hailing from different professional backgrounds and contexts, the Summer Institute faculty is committed to developing every participant’s potential as a digital literacy practitioner.
OUR 2025 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
JUNE 21 (ONLINE)
KRISTIN ZIEMKE
Made for Story: All ways, Always
Campfire conversations, cave paintings, letters mailed across the sea — the tools and times have changed, but the human condition has not. We are made for story. Today, we have so many ways to share stories; we move beyond “write it down” and diversify the how with digital options: blog, make a movie, podcast, write a multi-touch book, or share online. When we invite young people to tell their stories, we place our students at the center of curriculum and make it about them. We celebrate the benefits of technology and explicitly teach others to consider their identity as they use media to understand themselves and their place in the global learning community. Join in as we leverage the power of story in a digital age to benchmark time and change the future.
JULY 11 (IN PERSON)
TASHAL BROWN
Transformative Curriculum: Youth, Identity, and the Power of Critical Literacy
Dr. Tashal Brown discusses her work with students, educators, and community partners, using storytelling, multimodal art, and critical literacy to highlight marginalized histories. She creates spaces for youth to engage with issues that impact their daily lives. In one project rooted in African diasporic oral traditions, she examines how middle school students explored barbershops and salons as powerful venues for identity, community, and social change. Additionally, Dr. Brown presents new research on how Black youth are reimagining Black history education by challenging dominant narratives and shaping transformative, affirming curricula. Student collaborators will also join her to share their voices and visions.
Kristin Ziemke is a teacher, staff developer, and co-author of Read the World: Rethinking Literacy for Empathy and Action, Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom, and Connecting Comprehension and Technology.
Recognized as an international expert in literacy, inquiry. and technology, Kristin works with schools and organizations around the world to develop learning experiences that are student-centered, personalized, and authentic.
Currently serving as a resident teacher and innovation specialist for the Big Shoulders Fund, Kristin is an Apple Distinguished Educator, National Board Certified Teacher, and Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leader. Her work has been featured by Apple, EdWeek, Mindshift, and Scholastic.
Learn more about her work here:
Dr. Tashal Brown is an Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Secondary Social Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Her research broadly focuses on race, ethnicity, and gender as it concerns issues of equity and justice in educational contexts. She examines how cultivating and enacting critical literacies and liberatory pedagogies in K-12 schools, community-based spaces, and teacher education shape youth and educators’ perspectives, experiences, and actions.
Dr. Brown's collaborations with youth, educators, and community-based organizations demonstrate an unwavering commitment to fostering critical and transformative educational spaces with an increased capacity for innovative teaching and opportunities for youth to engage critically and creatively. Notably, she seeks opportunities to work alongside youth to pursue inquiries that address sociopolitical issues impacting their lives.
Learn more about her work here: https://web.uri.edu/education/meet/tashal-brown/
LEARN ALONGSIDE OUR TALENTED TEAM OF EDUCATORS
Kara Clayton
Kara was part of the first cohort to earn their Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy and later earned a Masters in Adult Education with a specialty in Digital Literacy from URI. She is a media literacy expert specializing in digital storytelling experiences with teachers in DPTV’s Iconic Michigan program. With more than 28 years of secondary classroom experience in ELA, Media Literacy, and Video Production, she is passionate about empowering learners to see the connection between what they read and the impact of the stories they can create through video. As an adjunct faculty member, Kara co-teaches two courses in URI’s Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy, where she helps educators integrate media literacy and storytelling into their practice. She is also a PBS Certified Media Literacy Educator, dedicated to fostering critical thinking and creative expression through digital media.
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Charlie Coiro
Charlie Coiro has 32 years of experience as a leadership instructor, facilitator, coach and consultant in the public and private sector. For the past nine years, Charlie has been the lead faculty member of the Tier 2 Leadership Strand of the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy. Charlie has developed more than 100 courses, workshops, and publications related to collaboration, leadership theory, facilitation, consulting, communications, conflict management, change management and self-awareness. In 1998 he helped establish the Coast Guard’s Leadership Development Center, where he currently works.
Julie Coiro
Julie Coiro is the Director of the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy and an internationally recognized expert on inquiry in digital literacy & online reading comprehension. Julie has taught for over 35 years, first with PreK-8 students with learning disabilities and for the past 16 years as a professor of reading, research, and digital literacy in the School of Education at the University of Rhode Island. Julie’s research focuses on collaborative online inquiry while also working with educators to support their understanding of digital inquiry and online reading as part of comprehension strategy instruction. Julie loves to talk with classroom teachers about their own experiences building a culture of inquiry, and in 2019, she published her co-authored book From Curiosity to Deep Learning: Personal Digital Inquiry in Grades K-5.
Frank Romanelli is an associate teaching professor of writing and education in the College of Education and Professional Studies at the University of Rhode Island. He coordinates the concurrent enrollment program for writing, presently serving almost 1000 students annually in 38 Rhode Island high schools. He is presently an assistant director at the Media Education Lab and he has also served as the director and Digital Pedagogy Specialist for the Writing and Rhetoric Production Lab and as coordinator of UnClassroom, a project-based learning initiative for the Harrington School of Communication and Media. Frank also enjoys being a successful singer/songwriter.
Laura Hamman-Ortiz is an Assistant Professor of TESOL and Bilingual Education in the College of Education at the University of Rhode Island. Laura has over 15 years of experience supporting multilingual learners and their teachers, both across the U.S. (Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Rhode Island) and abroad (Chile, Ecuador, Spain). Her research interests include dual language bilingual education, translanguaging pedagogy, student identity negotiation, elementary writing instruction, and teacher learning and praxis. In addition to teaching courses related to TESOL and bilingual education at URI, Laura frequently facilitates professional development for educators around the country. She is committed to cultivating more affirming and inclusive learning spaces for multilingual learners.
Shelley Wolfe is a nationally recognized media executive, educator, and digital literacy advocate with nearly 30 years of experience in community media, education, and entertainment. As Executive Director of PSTV, the education channel for the School District of Philadelphia, she has transformed the platform into a student-led, industry-standard multimedia hub where she has directly trained over 1,500 youth in media production, with alumni advancing to roles in major organizations and and founding initiatives that promote culturally relevant media arts education. Shelley also leads Toolbox Entertainment & Strategic Consulting, offering coaching and professional development. She is also the co-founder of SIMBY, which provides Black youth access to culturally relevant media arts education through online and in-person experiences led by Black instructors to foster representation, belonging, and media literacy. A recent recipient of the Digital Media Literacy Certificate, she continues to empower communities through storytelling, innovation, and inclusive education.