The Cal State Northridge Writing Project

Kathleen Dudden Rowlands Ph.D., Director and Primary Investigator: An Associate Professor in the Department of Secondary Education at California State University, Northridge, Kathleen was a classroom teacher (grades 7-12) for 20 years. She has a doctorate in Composition from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is the author of Opening Texts: Using Writing to Teach Literature (Heinemann 1990 published under her former last name "Andrasick") as well as a number of articles. She has more than 15 years of experience as Co-director of the Hawai`i Writing Project, and as Director or Co-director of fifteen summer institutes in Hawai`i (Honolulu and Maui), Houston, and American Samoa. She is the Director of the Reading Institute for Academic Preparation at CSUN, and has led a number of training sessions for the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Ximena Miller, M.A. Co-Director: Ximena Miller has her M.A. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from CSUN, is a National Board Certified Teacher, and by the end of the summer will be a Teacher Consultant for the UCLA Writing Project. A former literacy coach, Ximena is currently the English Learners' Program Coordinator at Monroe High School (LAUSD District #1) and recently returned to the classroom part time. She adds her specialized level of expertise working with ELL students to our program.

Board of Directors The following teachers and university professors currently serve on the Cal State Northridge Writing Project Board of Directors. It is our plan to add two Teacher Consultants from each Invitational Institute to serve for a two year renewable term.

Marlene Apfelberg M.A.: Marlene Apfelberg retired last year from L.A.U.S.D. after over 40 years as an educator. After teaching in elementary, middle, and high schools, she was a Literacy Coach at Reseda High School, a Developing Readers and Writers Expert in Local District 1, and an English Language Arts Specialist in Local District 2. She has a B.A degree in Education from Temple University, an M.A. degree in Special Education: Reading and Learning Disorders from CSUN, and an M.A. degree in Educational Administration from CSUN.

Matthew Brown M.A.: Matthew has his M.A. in Secondary Education, (English Focus) from CSUN. He has taught grades 7-12 grades over the past 14 years and is now the English Department Chair and Academic Dean at Santa Clarita Christian School. As a teacher consultant with the South Coast Writing Project at UCSB, he works closely with the California Writing Project on the ISAW (Improving Student Academic Writing) program. Matthew has published articles in English Journal and in California English.

Bonnie Ericson, Ph.D.: Bonnie Ericson taught high school English in upstate New York prior to earning her doctorate and M.S. degrees at Syracuse University in Reading Education and English Education. She began teaching methods courses in English and Literacy in the content areas at Cal State Northridge in 1984 and has been the Chair of the Department of Secondary Education since 1999. Currently CSUN’s liaison with Northridge Academy High School, LAUSD Local District 1, she is the author of numerous articles and book chapters; in addition, she edited Teaching Reading in High School English Classes (NCTE, 2001).

Juliet Herman: Juliet Herman, MEd. Juliet Herman earned her undergraduate degree from Mills College. After many years in the private sector, including working as a Congressional Liasion for the United States Department of Justice, Juliet gravitated toward education. She attended George Mason University's Graduate School of Education earning her MEd with a focus on English Curriculum. Her first teaching experience was in Washington DC where she taught English, Public Speaking and was head of the Drama Department. After relocating to Southern California she worked for several years in Pasadena schools, teaching both middle and high school. For the past several years she has been living and working in the Conejo Valley in Ventura County. Currently she teaches English at Newbury Park High School.

Jodene Kersten, Ph.D.: Jodene Kersten is an Assistant Professor at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, where she teaches literacy and multicultural education courses for K-12 credential candidates and advises students in the Masters programs. Prior to teaching at Cal Poly, she worked as a literacy specialist at a magnet middle school for culture, language and communication arts in Lansing, Michigan and taught elementary school in San Francisco and Lawndale, California for many years. Jodene has a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy with an emphasis in Literacy from Michigan State University and is the author of book chapters and articles in journals including the Reading Teacher, Language Arts and the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching and Research. Her recent research focused on supporting elementary students struggling with reading and writing in an after school literacy-based program she developed in the San Gabriel Valley.

Anthony Pennay M.A.: Tony Pennay is a Curriculum Resource Teacher at Santa Clarita Valley International Charter School. He teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies. Prior to being hired by SCVI, Tony taught for five years at Sinai Akiba Academy in Los Angeles, and served as the Director of Curriculum Projects in his final year there. Tony originally entered the field of education when he joined the Teach for America program after graduating with a dual major in Literature and Film Studies from Claremont McKenna College. After completing his two year commitment in the Pasadena Unified School District, Tony returned to school and earned his M. A. in English from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. He has published many short stories, articles, and book reviews, and his article “Techno-Literacy: A Boon for Writing Instruction in the Classroom” is scheduled to appear in the September 2009 issue of California English.

Grace Warren M.A.: Grace Warren is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Secondary Education at California State University, Northridge. She has a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. in English from CSUN, and both Secondary and Reading Specialist Credentials from CSUN. She has taught middle and high school English, reading and creative writing in Los Angeles and in Palm Beach County, Florida for over 30 years. As a Teacher Concultant with both the CSUN and USC Writing Projects, she was Co-Director of the USC Writing Project for two years. A grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to research the art and literature of the Japanese-American Internment Camps led to her collaboration with the National Park Service to create an interdisciplinary curriculum for the Manzanar National Historic Site. Ms Warren has also worked with secondary students on playwriting activities which incorporate the theme of disability. Her students’ plays received awards from VSA arts of Florida, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.