Rupen Fofaria is a storyteller at EDNC.org, where he examines how education policy shows up in classrooms and impacts teachers, students, and families. Rupen has invested much of his time since 2019 reporting stories about literacy instruction in North Carolina. His stories about the body of research on how kids learn to read take readers inside classrooms, advance student and family narratives, explore challenges for early reading teachers, and study best practices in colleges of education. Prior to joining EdNC, Rupen was an attorney in Raleigh and Chicago, practicing start-up and intellectual property law. In his (much) younger days, he was a sports writer for ESPN.com, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the Orlando Sentinel. Rupen’s passion is shining light on untold and underreported issues.

Further Resources and Rupen’s Picks:

• Rupen Fofaria and his reporting
• Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert by Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle, and Kate Nation
• Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark Seidenberg
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Tristan Strong Series by Kwame Mbalia
• Theories of Adolescent Development by Barbara M. Newman and Philip R. Newman
• Y Guides
• “Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation, comes action.“ Tupac Shakur

Deborah is an education attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area currently representing families and students against school districts throughout Northern California. She is extremely passionate about her work and the rights of children with disabilities and children who are disproportionally affected by the failures of public schools. Deborah is an active member of the educational community and works with parents, teachers, administrators, service providers and local organizations to support the needs of vulnerable youth.

Deborah has spent her entire legal career working on behalf of children. As a law student she worked as a legal intern and special education advocate for Disability Rights California and Bay Area Legal Aide, then quickly became the managing associate at a special education law firm in the District of Columbia where she represented low-income families in court appointed special education cases. Prior to relocating back to the Bay Area, Deborah co-founded The School Justice Project (“SJP”), a legal services and advocacy organization serving older students with special education needs who are involved in Washington DC’s justice system. In 2013 Deborah started her own practice in Berkeley, California, Jacobson Education Law (“JEL”). In addition to her private practice, Deborah has worked as both co-counsel and of counsel for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (“DREDF”), and she currently serves as Of Counsel for The East Bay Community Law Center in their Education Justice Clinic.

Deborah has effectively and compassionately represented hundreds of clients in special education matters. She is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences and provides trainings to local advocacy and parent groups.

Further Resources and Deborah’s Picks:

• More on the class action lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
• The School Justice Project
• East Bay Community Law Center
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Audie Alumbaugh received her master’s degree in special education but has been an unpaid advocate for Arkansas children for over 10 years. Her passion began when teaching mathematics and recognizing that middle school and high school students were unable to perform at the potential when “word problems” were presented to them. it did not take long after that for her to realize the reading crisis in Arkansas. When her faculty position at the University of Central Arkansas and her advocacy for children resulted in what public school superintendents referred to as a “conflict of interest,” Audie left her faculty position knowing children’s education is more important and much more urgently needed. Audie has advocated for thousands of children and attended thousands of 504 and IEP meetings around the state as well as several outside of her home state. In 2015 Audie founded the Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group and funded its activities herself. Audie works tirelessly with the Arkansas legislature. Through her work several laws have been enacted strengthening public schools’ responsibility in identifying children with dyslexia and providing proper science-based intervention. Audie has assisted advocates in other states and worked to strengthen their laws as well.

This is a labor of love for Audie.

Further Resources and Audie’s Picks:

• More on Audie’s Work
• Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group (75 Taylor Circle, Conway, AR 72032)
• Arkansas Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (R.I.S.E.) resources
• PBS NewsHour segment highlighting Arkansas and Audie’s work
• Blueprint for a Literate Nation; How You Can Help by Cinthia Coletti
• An Uphill Climb by Dave Sargent
• "To whom much is given, much will be required" (Luke 12:48)