Susan Tannehill

Associate Director of Operations & Finance

What I like most about my role within the Center is…

Supporting the mission of increasing literacy skills for children.

What I believe in:

I am passionate about social justice and health equity and am an ally for the LGBTQ+ community and for those oppressed due to discrimination.

Previous work highlights:

I spent nearly 15 years working for an AIDS service organization and over a decade at Harvard, most notably with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

Favorite book:

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir.

Fun fact:

I am an artist and an ardent poodle lover!

Education:

BLA from Harvard

June 23, 2025 Heather Rodman, Literacy Trainer

Beyond Right and Wrong: Cultivating Deep Comprehension Through Teacher Listening

What do you listen for during comprehension conversations? The answer to this question might be the key to facilitating conversations that evoke and foster deep, meaningful, stimulating discourse during whole group, small group, and individual conversations.

June 13, 2025 Linda Murphy, Associate Director of Literacy Programs

AI Prompting with Purpose: 5 Tips for Teachers

AI has been increasingly integrated into our daily lives. As we learn how to use AI in productive ways with students and for instructional planning, an important skill to develop is effective prompting.

May 28, 2025 Wendy Vaulton, Associate Director for Reading Recovery & Early Interventions

Rethinking Reading Proficiency

As educators, our understanding of proficiency shapes the way we teach, assess, and support learners. If we define proficiency narrowly, we risk overlooking not only important aspects of literacy, but the larger purpose of education itself. We seek not only to prepare students to perform well on tests, but to help them build the skills to engage critically with the world around them.