Scholastic Experts, Specialists and Leading Thinkers in Education and Classroom Technology
Scholastic works alongside many of the leading thinkers in educational technology, child development, publishing, Latino literacy and many other areas. These experts and specialists are available for interviews. To speak with one of them, contact Media Relations at Scholastic at (212) 343-4563 or news@scholastic.com.
Expert Selector:
Marilyn Jager Adams
Ms. Adams is a consultant and expert in phonics instruction and beginning reading. She is a Visiting Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Department at Brown University.
Francie Alexander
Ms. Alexander is the company's chief advisor on education, with a deep knowledge of reading instruction, early childhood literacy, assessment, intervention and professional development. She is Chief Academic Officer. Ms. Alexander is a former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the NAEP test and currently serves on two PBS Advisory Boards and the Steering Committee for the School Management Program at UCLA.
Francine Colaneri
Ms. Colaneri is responsible for the purchasing of raw materials, including paper, for Scholastic, and has led the company in setting industry-leading goals for sustainable paper procurement practices. She also managed the manufacturing of all of the Harry Potter books.
Willard Daggett, Ed.D.
Dr. Daggett is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on 21st Century workforce preparation and innovation in schools. He is President of the International Center for Leadership in Education.
David “Dock” Dockterman, Ed.D.
Dr. Dockterman is an expert in gaming theory in education and specializes in developing technology that motivates students to learn math and science. He is a Harvard professor and Scholastic’s lead educational game designer.
Nick Friedman
Mr. Friedman is the Editor-in-Chief of Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, a leading national publication for parents of children ages 0-12 that focuses on topics such as child development, family well-being, education, health, travel, and nutrition.
Ted Hasselbring, Ed.D.
Dr. Hasselbring has conducted more than two decades of research into using technology to enhance education. He has helped develop groundbreaking reading intervention programs for struggling readers, including READ 180® and FASTT Math® from Scholastic.
Elfrieda “Freddy” H. Hiebert, Ph.D.
Dr. Hiebert is an expert on teaching young children and English Language Learners how to read. She was instrumental in developing Scholastic Zip Zoom English, a Scholastic reading program for young ELL students.
Suzanne McCabe
Ms. McCabe is the Editor-at-Large for Scholastic News. In her previous role as editor of Junior Scholastic Magazine, McCabe has covered all the presidential elections with the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps since the student reporting program began in 2000. McCabe, who is the author of Capital Kids and other books for young people, has written extensively about issues affecting children and teens around the world, having reported from Mexico, the United Kingdom, post-Katrina New Orleans, and the Navajo and Nez Perce Indian reservations.
Virginia McEnerney
Ms. McEnerney runs the most prestigious, longest-running national program that identifies and supports creative teen artists and writers around the country, and is a passionate advocate for arts in education. She is Executive Director at the non-profit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, which runs the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, founded in 1923.
Maggie McGuire
Maggie McGuire is an expert in youth digital and parenting and works at Scholastic as Vice President, eScholastic, Kids and Parents Channels where she oversees development for Scholastic's kids and parent sites. Maggie's experience in the interactive space encompasses a broad spectrum of delivery formats from the Internet to handheld video games, consoles, electronic learning toys and interactive television. Prior to her work in children's media and entertainment, she spent eight years in the educational arena as a Language Arts and Literature teacher (grades 7 to 10) and as a teacher trainer and curriculum development designer.
Wilma Robles de Melendez, Ph.D.
Dr. Robles de Melendez is an early childhood education professor and literacy development professor, and author who specializes in teacher training, multicultural early education, and family literacy and engagement.
Susan B. Neuman, Ed.D.
Dr. Neuman is a consultant, an author and an expert in early reading instruction, early childhood policy and reading to young children. She was a lead consultant on the creation of a new Scholastic imprint, Little Scholastic and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Reading With Your Child .
Carol Sakoian
Ms. Sakoian is Vice President of Scholastic International. She is the creator of the Scholastic Arabic-language classroom libraries, called My Arabic Library, and has traveled extensively in the Middle East.
Leslye Schaefer
Ms. Schaefer is Senior Vice President of Marketing and Consumer Products for Scholastic Media, managing popular franchises such as Clifford the Big Red Dog, I Spy, Maya & Miguel, The Magic School Bus and WordGirl . She is an expert in the areas of brand marketing, promotion and consumer products strategy development for educational children’s media.
Janet Speakman
Ms. Speakman is an expert in identifying books that kids will love. She is the Chief Reading Officer for Scholastic Book Fairs, overseeing the selection of books and materials to be included in all Fairs. Several book series, including Captain Underpants and Charlie Bone, have grown tremendously popular, in part, because of her skill in picking them out.
Alfred Tatum, Ph.D.
Dr. Tatum is a consultant and one of the nation’s leading thinkers on the topic of boys and reading, especially on how to inspire at-risk boys to read through the use of writing. He is a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Jeffrey Wilhelm, Ph.D.
Dr. Wilhelm has conducted extensive research into motivational learning and the use of art, drama and technology to support reading, writing and learning. He is particularly interested in reluctant or resistant learners, and was a leader in developing the XBOOKS nonfiction instruction program for middle schools from Scholastic.
Jessica Wollman
Ms. Wollman develops and produces high-quality, educational television programming for Scholastic Media. She has served as both Producer and Associate Producer on 105 episodes of the award-winning Clifford the Big Red Dog and Clifford’s Puppy Days series, as well as the Production Executive on WordGirl .