Sean Brady
is a teacher at Kings Park High School, where he works with ninth and tenth grade English Language Arts students to develop critical reading, thinking, and writing skills. Prior to teaching at Kings Park, Sean served as the Senior Instructor for the Writing Center at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury where he tutored collegiate writers one-on-one and taught specialized workshops on different aspects of the writing process. Sean utilizes his undergraduate background in Psychology to consider the roles motivation, leadership, and social interaction have within the process of teaching and learning writing. Sean also coaches both soccer and lacrosse, and seeks to be a coach in the classroom with an educational philosophy informed by over a decade of experience guiding young athletes.
Emily Carty
is currently teaching eighth and ninth grade English and Special Education at Mineola High School, located in Long Island, NY.
Kerrin Denue
holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Ithaca College, a master’s degree in international business, cultures and languages from Oxford Brookes University and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in adolescence education: English language arts at SUNY Old Westbury. She has more than 10 years of teaching experience at every academic level, from children as young as three to adults at the masters and Ph.D. level, most notably as an English lecturer at The University of Lorraine in Nancy, France, and most recently at secondary institutions in New York. She has taught English as a second language, English literature, social justice and identity writing, creative writing and French language. She is a writer of fiction, creative nonfiction, and theoretical works at the intersection of philosophy and psychology.
Nicole DuBois-Grabkowitz
is currently a high school English language arts teacher at The Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts in Brooklyn, New York. In 2022, DuBois-Grabkowitz and Nicole Sieben co-led a workshop presentation at the NYSEC 2022 Conference in Albany, New York. She has authored several publications including a chapter in Sieben’s 2020 book Narratives of Hope and Grief in Higher Education and SUNY Old Westbury’s literary publication Discordia. Prior to the 2020 Covid
Lindsey Gordon
is an educator and mother of three living in Long Island, NY. Lindsey has obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from Long Island University and a master’s degree in Teaching from SUNY Old Westbury. Lindsey currently teaches high school ELA in Brooklyn, NY where she introduces students to writing as a healthy coping mechanism, and enjoys helping students find joy in reading. The Covid-19 pandemic forced Lindsey to slow down, rediscover writing for herself, and find a place for therapeutic writing in her teaching practice.
Jonathan Hock
is currently a high school English Language Arts and English as New Language teacher on Long Island, New York. Previously, he taught English as a Second Language lecturer at Gyeongsang National University and Chinju National University of Education in South Korea from 2011–2022. Jonathan holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Albany and is finishing his Master’s in Adolescent Education at SUNY Old Westbury. Additionally, he was a presenter at the 2023 New York State English Council on Hope Moments Amplified in Secondary ELA Classrooms and English Teacher Education.
Katie Hoffmann
teaches English Language Arts to middle school students at Louis Pasteur MS 67. Additionally, she teaches a preparatory course for aspiring teachers at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. She enjoys exploring topics related to empathy, gender studies, as well as the role early childhood and adolescent experiences plays into our overall development. She appreciates a good cup of tea or coffee paired with a great autobiography, mystery, or fantasy novel. Katie lives on Long Island with her husband, one year old son, and three pets.
Ph.D., is a professor and dean of the School of Education at SUNY Old Westbury. She holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois. She is passionate about teaching and learning and believes that our future leaders, especially those with disabilities, must be afforded a quality education if they are to compete with the rest of the world, become more intellectually sound individuals, and have better opportunities to become productive members of society. Dr. Jones-Sukhram is a native of Belize. She has been instrumental in writing and implementing the special education graduate programs at Old Westbury. Some of her most recent projects include the following grant awards: DOL Teacher Residency with the Hempstead School District, BranchED Transformational Center, NYSED Teacher Opportunity Corps II, and Western Suffolk BOCES Teacher Diversity Pipeline. She spearheads the SUNY Old Westbury-School of Education Summer Institute for Teachers and developed a partnership with NaRCIE and the Ministry of Education in Belize to provide Belizean educators with best practice strategies to better prepare them to address students’ diverse learning needs and provided OW faculty with a rich educational and cultural experience. Her professional and scholarship agenda includes 8 published articles in journals such as: Exceptional Children; Journal of International Special Needs Education, Early Childhood Education, and the British Journal of Special Education, and over 42 national, regional, and international conference presentations. She is also actively engaged as an Advisory Board member for the STEP Program at Old Westbury.
Elizabeth A. Morphis
Ed.D., is an associate professor of Childhood Education and Literacy at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury. She is the graduate coordinator of the Literacy Education Master’s Program and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy education. Dr. Morphis has published articles and book chapters on preservice and inservice teacher education, primarily focusing on how teachers learn to teach literacy through courses that connect theory to practice. Prior to joining the faculty at SUNY Old Westbury, she taught at the elementary school level, taught the child actors on the 30th Anniversary Broadway Tour of Annie, and was a content specialist at Sesame Workshop. Dr. Morphis recently created the website and blog, The Literacy Teacher’s Life, which is a resource that focuses on literacy instruction for preservice and inservice teachers as well as for parents.
Kate Oberg
is an aspiring high school English teacher who recently went back to school for her teaching certification with the goal of starting a second, more meaningful
Cait O’Connor
is a middle school English teacher from New York. She is passionate about mental health advocacy, peer work, and eating disorder recovery, and has written for publications such as Edutopia, English Journal, Language Arts, and the recipient of the 2023 NCTE Outstanding Middle Level Educator Award.
Kasey O’Connor
is a literacy specialist and elementary school teacher in the Lindenhurst Union Free School District. Kasey attended SUNY Geneseo for her Bachelor’s Degree in Childhood and Special Education, graduating in December of 2017. Following the completion of her undergraduate education, she immediately began her Master’s Degree in Childhood Literacy Education at SUNY Old Westbury. Kasey graduated in May of 2020 and began working as a Literacy Specialist in the 2020–2021 school year. Since then, Kasey has worked with a wide range of students, most recently working as a Special Educator Literacy Specialist to support students in a special class educational setting.
Josefa Pace
Ph.D., is in Literacy Studies. Through ethnographic research and discourse and narrative analysis, Josefa examines writing and digital rhetoric. Josefa received a BFA in Theatre and BA in English with a minor in Italian. She obtained her Masters in English/Creative Writing. She taught a range of courses in writing, literature, literacy, and interdisciplinary classes. She would like to dedicate this chapter to her former teachers and professors. She cherishes and holds dearly their words and encouragement; and most especially, Josefa expresses immense gratitude to her first teachers, her parents, who never deterred her from the paths she took. Their unconditional support for her writing approaches is ongoing, and their authentic motivational expressions and constant presence are permanent markers of hope.
is a 7th grade English language arts teacher. She has taught middle school ELA for the past 7 years. Her passion for English began by practicing reading children’s books at her local library and making up her own stories. She was inspired to become an English major at SUNY College at Old Westbury where she received her bachelors degree in English literature in 2015. She enjoyed the program immensely and decided to pursue her teaching degree there as well. In 2017 she received her Master of Arts in Teaching degree in Adolescence English education. While attending SUNY Old Westbury as an undergraduate student, she worked to compile extensive research on the topic of Disability Theory. The research she collected on Disability Theory was published in Discordia, Old Westbury’s college publication. As a graduate student at SUNY Old Westbury, she then presented at NCTE – The National Council of Teachers of English, on the topic of Disability Theory and how to effectively teach and integrate Disability Theory into a high school setting. As an educator, she believes it is imperative that she is able to recognize each student’s differences and provide them with the necessary tools to achieve the highest form of knowledge possible, which they can take with them throughout their academic careers and on future endeavors in the real world.
Christopher Perkowski
is a high school English teacher at John Bowne High School in NY. He has a Master of Arts in Teaching in Adolescent English Education (7–12) from SUNY College at Old Westbury and a Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications from Molloy University. Although he was born and raised on Long Island, Christopher lives in Queens, NY with his wife, Maria, their dog, Cassie, and their cat, CC. He is passionate about literature and literary criticism, film theory and film criticism, and is an avid sports fan. When he is not in the classroom, he is likely traveling to see a game at every MLB stadium with his wife, adding to his collection of physical media, or painstakingly watching the New York Giants lose on Sundays in the fall and winter.
Lilly Pelliccia
is a graduate student at SUNY Old Westbury in the M.A.T. Program in English education with the end goal of becoming a secondary ELA teacher. She is currently a substitute teacher in a public high school and has learned so much about how she wishes to connect with her students in the future. What she has enjoyed most about the introduction to this new career path at 24, is the beauty of making connections and interacting with people every single day.
Jazmine Pirzada
is a graduate student at SUNY Old Westbury in the M.A.T. Program in English education. Reading and writing have always been a passion of hers. Getting the opportunity to include her writing in this book means so much to her. As an M.A.T. English student, working with Dr. Nicole Sieben as her professor and advisor has been a pleasure. Being able to see Dr. Sieben’s love for teaching has inspired her to do the same. She feels she has grown so much in her writing and is thankful to be a part of this book. As she goes into her role as an educator, she will take along with her all the knowledge she has learned throughout her master’s program. English has a way of giving individuality to students and has always been a subject she gravitated towards. Finding a career, you are passion about is the most important thing and she is glad she found hers.
Heather L. Rieger
is a lover of Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf, Heather Lynn Rieger is a former 7th and 8th grade English teacher on Long Island, NY where she lives with her husband. Together they frequent bookshops and thrift stores for records for his collection and unique copies of Pride and Prejudice for hers. She dreams of publishing more of her work, especially writing about building a life after leaving a cult. Heather believes that hope can be found in the darkest of places by using both the written and spoken word as a light. She now works in the medical billing field and writes in her free time.
Jake Roche
is a certified English teacher currently teaching middle school at the Queens School of Inquiry. He earned both his Bachelors of Arts in English and Masters of Arts in Teaching Adolescence Education (English 7–12) from SUNY Old Westbury. Currently I reside in Long Island where I spend my summers reading everything from modern popular fiction to contemporary and historical literary classics. Aside from reading I enjoy playing soccer, relaxing at the beach, going on hikes, and strumming my guitar. In the winter I snowboard and spend time on the mountains with my best friends. I am the oldest of four children.
Nicole Sieben
Ed.D., is Associate Professor of Secondary English Education, Chair of the Adolescence Education Department in the School of Education, and the Coordinator for the Graduate Programs in English Education at SUNY Old Westbury. She is also the Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at SUNY Old Westbury. A former high school English teacher and leadership trainer in New York, Dr. Sieben’s research focuses on building “writing hope” in secondary and postsecondary education, social justice practices, and professional development practices in K-12 schools and teacher education. Sieben is author of the (2018) book, Writing Hope Strategies for Writing Success in Secondary Schools: A Strengths-Based Approach to Teaching Writing, co-editor of the books, Narratives of Hope and Grief in Higher Education (2020) and Humanizing Grief in Higher Education: Narratives of Allyship and Hope (2021), journal editor for the special issue of the research journal, English Education, “Designing Professional Development for Equity and Social Justice,” and former column editor (2018–2020) for English Journal’s Books-in-Action column, which focused on texts that cultivate hope in the ELA classroom. Sieben is the recipient of the 2010 NCTE Edwin M. Hopkins Award for her March 2009 English Journal article “’Watch What You Teach’: A First-Year Teacher Refuses to Play It Safe,” and the recipient of the 2017 Article of the Year Award for her article, “Teaching Writing Hope for a Just Writing Society” published in 2016 in The English Record. She has participated in several grants that focus on social justice practices in secondary and postsecondary schools, including one that she was awarded from NCTE ELATE’s Research Initiative Program, in which she focused on teaching writing hope through social justice practices. Sieben is excited to share hope moments found with the English education community writ large in this collection of chapters written by educators for educators.