Summer Educator Workshops

Faculty

Gene Nelson is director of the Provo (Utah) City Library.

Education:	MLS in library and information sciences, BYU.
Experience:	In addition to his work at the Provo City Library, Gene is an adjunct faculty member in children’s literature at Brigham Young University. During his 30–year career in the library business, he has worked in elementary school, middle school, college, and public libraries. He has built three libraries including the renovated Provo City Library at Academy Square.
Other:	Participated on many local, regional, and national committees, including the Randolph Caldecott committees in 2000 and 2010. (The Caldecott Award is given each year by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most outstanding American picture book.)

Brenda Burr is a high school administrator and adjunct instructor of classroom management for BYU.

Education:

BA in English from the University of Central Oklahoma; masters of educational leadership from BYU, 2008.

Experience:

Assistant principal at Salem Hills High School and adjunct instructor of classroom management for Brigham Young University; former assistant principal at Pleasant Grove High School, Mapleton Junior High, and Santaquin Elementary. Taught English, served as the intern and new teacher mentor and student council advisor at Springville High School. Taught language arts and reading in grades 6 through 8 in West Plains, Missouri, and ninth grade English in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Bradley Ross is an expert on information technology.

Education:	Bachelor’s degree in computer science, BYU; Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
Experience:	Business analyst, BYU Office of Information Technology, providing strategic guidance for campus technology solutions; manager, BYU Open Access Technologies, operating a lab of 1,200 computers; technical training program coordinator, training technology and office professionals in topics ranging from server configuration to telephone systems to computer basics.
Other:	Previous member of the American Society of Training and Development; EDUCAUSE conference presenter on the subject of lecture capture; blogger on subjects of personal and professional interest since 2004; produced a free podcast recording of James E. Talmage’s landmark work, Jesus the Christ, which has been downloaded more than 50,000 times.

Michelle Marchant has extensive experience with special education.

Experience:

Coordinator of the Brigham Young University Special Education licensure program in 2009; Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at Brigham Young University; has trained teachers in emotional and behavior strategies since 1999; worked as a resource teacher in public schools serving students with mild and moderate disabilities; primary research interest is in the prevention and treatment of children and youth who are at risk for/or experience emotional and behavioral disorders.

Damon Bahr’s area of discipline is math education.

Education:	Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Brigham Young University, 1988; M.Ed., elementary education, Utah State University, 1982; B.S., elementary education, mathematics minor, Brigham Young University, 1979; license endorsement, elementary mathematics, Utah State Office of Education, 2005.
Experience:	Associate professor, Brigham Young University, 2006; associate professor, Utah Valley State College, 1997–2006; elementary teacher, Alpine School District, 1983–1997; elementary teacher, Washington County School District, 1979–1983. Research focuses on performance assessment in the context of professional development; elementary mathematics teacher induction; and public school-university partnering and mathematical discourse.
Other:	Faculty Excellence Award, Utah Valley State College, 2004; Alumni Faculty of the Year, Utah Valley State College, 2003; Carl V. Watkins Outstanding Educator, Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce, 1995; Golden Apple Outstanding Educator Award, Orem City PTA Council, 1994; Karl Jones Utah State Elementary Math Teacher of the Year, Utah Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1993.

Brad Wilcox has written two children’s books and is a popular speaker and presenter at BYU Campus Education Week and Especially for Youth programs.

Education:	Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, University of Wyoming.
Experience:	Associate professor of education, Brigham Young University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy and children’s literature. Formerly taught sixth grade in Provo, Utah. He also is a traveling literacy consultant.
Other:	Author of “There’s a Way, Annie McRae!” and “Hip, Hip, Hooray for Annie McRae!” Keynote speaker at the national conferences of the Golden Key Honor Society, Education Planning Solutions, America’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program and many state student council leadership, gifted and talented and Head Start conferences. He formerly lived in New Zealand where he directed a Study Abroad program for BYU. He is a former president of the Chile Santiago East Mission and a current member of the Sunday School General Board for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Links