Mary K. Grace, M.Ed., Executive Director
Mary is the founding Executive Director of Partnerships for Literacy and Learning. Prior to that, she was the Director of the Vermont Reads Institute at UVM for 12 years. Over the course of her career, she has focused on high quality professional development for educators, adult learning theory, and program development. She began her work in education as an adult basic education teacher and the Director of Literacy Programs at the Vermont Humanities Council. In addition to her dedication to literacy and learning, Mary has served on the Council of the Vermont Women’s Fund and is the Vice-Chair of Central Vermont Adult Basic Education. She lives in Morrisville, Vermont with her husband and two children.
Melanie Stultz-Backus, M.Ed., Literacy Consultant
Melanie is a retired English teacher whose career spanned thirty years at Mount Abraham Union High School in Bristol, Vermont. She first worked as a Chapter I teacher of reading, collaborating in many classrooms across the disciplines in Grades 7-12; next, she taught an array of required and elective courses in grades 9-12. American Studies, a course in 20th century Literature, History and Culture she team-taught for over twenty years, was critical to her growth as a practitioner of collaborative teaching and performance based learning. Influenced by mentors from her high school and college years, she strove to make student agency central to her teaching. Mount Abraham’s early initiative of a school-within-a-school focused on both personalized learning and rigorous development of competencies and performance based assessments. Melanie was privileged to integrate her roles as teacher leader, literacy coach and English instructor into efforts to refine and forward the goals of the Performance Assessment Working Group under the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant through the Center for Secondary School Redesign (CSSR, Providence, RI). This culminating experience deepened her interest and expertise in authentic learning, the art of coaching, and cooperative approaches to professional development as exemplified by Critical Friends Groups’ philosophies. She treasured her twenty-year tenure as a member of the Coordinating Committee of the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Breadloaf. In 2008 Melanie was named a UVM Outstanding Teacher for the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union.
Lisa V. Driver, Ed.D., Literacy Consultant
Lisa has been an educator for over 35 years in Vermont schools as a middle school teacher, literacy coach, literacy interventionist, and literacy coordinator. In 1993 she was named a UVM Outstanding Teacher for the FWSU Supervisory Union. Lisa completed her doctoral studies in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Vermont in the spring of 2010. Over the course of her career, she has worked to develop high quality adolescent literacy instruction with a special emphasis on struggling readers and writers. She has a passion for providing literacy instruction to ALL students. Lisa is currently a literacy consultant for Partnerships in Literacy and Learning. She lives in Georgia, Vermont with her husband spending springtime making VT maple syrup!
Sarah Miller, M.Ed, Literacy Consultant
Sarah Miller has worked with teachers and students in Vermont schools since 2009. Prior to that, she began her career working with K-8 Dreamers at the “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Boulder County. Since then, Sarah has taught middle school English-Language Arts and Social Studies. She has also served as both a school and a district Literacy Instructional Coach in Chittenden County. In 2012, Sarah completed her M.Ed. at Saint Michael’s College in Reading. Across her years in education, Sarah has been focused on engaging readers and writers in meaningful ways, with access to literature and nonfiction that is relevant and accessible. She is particularly interested in supporting young people in developing robust reading and writing identities that build on their lives, interests, and passions. Sarah has worked to build vibrant literate communities in schools. Currently, Sarah is a literacy consultant with Partnerships for Literacy and Learning. She lives in Underhill, Vermont with her husband, son, daughter, two dogs, and a cat.
Tammy Bourne, M.Ed, Literacy Consultant
Tammy Bourne recently retired from teaching in Vermont and joined PLL as a literacy consultant. Throughout her 39 years of teaching, she was a special educator for many years in Chittenden County. She then moved to the Morristown School District, where she spent the remainder of her career as a consulting teacher, classroom teacher, and most recently as the literacy coach for grades K-4. Tammy has always had a passion for helping students become successful readers and writers, creating confidence, and developing a passion for learning. She has served on many literacy committees throughout her career. In 2005, she received the honor of being recognized as a UVM Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Tammy obtained her M.ED at Saint Michael’s College as a Learning Specialist. She enjoys working with different educators around the state. Tammy lives in Hyde Park, VT, and loves spending time with her three grandchildren.
Audrey Richardson, Ph.D., NEXIS Program Coordinator
Audrey has been an educator for over 15 years as a high school English Teacher, literacy interventionist and literacy coach in Woodstock, Vermont. Audrey is a graduate of The University of Vermont with a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Audrey’s central focus, in both her research and work with PLL, is the implementation of equitable systems that support literacy learning for ALL students. As PLL’s NEXIS coordinator Audrey is committed to bringing education stakeholders together from around the state to engage in actionable literacy change. Audrey lives in Taftsville, Vermont with her dairy farmer husband and two daughters.
Barbara Murphy, Office Manager
Barbara joined PLL several years ago, bringing over 45 years of managerial and bookkeeping experience. For over 29 of those years, she worked in various roles at an advertising-based franchise company. Driven by her passion for helping others, she is excited to join the nonprofit sector. An added bonus was the opportunity to work with a dedicated team committed to enriching children’s lives. Barbara resides in Warren with her high school sweetheart and husband of 50 years, surrounded by her loving family, friends, and two beautiful grandchildren.
Karen Weeks, M.Ed. Media Coordinator
Karen Weeks joined Partnerships for Literacy and Learning in October of 2019 after retiring from a 35 year career in teaching and school administration. Karen taught in elementary classrooms although the majority of her career was in special education, with a specific focus on literacy instruction. She was a district level Director of Special Education and her last years were with her favorite age level student, as a principal at a middle school. Middle school students keep you young! Karen has served on the board at the Lamoille Restorative Center for many years. She’s enjoying working with PLL as well as spending time with her husband, two grown daughters and 10 grandchildren.