Meet The Team
Dr. Gravity Goldberg
Director & Literacy Consultant
Gravity is an educational consultant, author and founder of Gravity Goldberg, LLC. While based in the New York / New Jersey metro area, Gravity supports school districts across the country. She specializes in literacy, special education, curriculum, assessment, and learning with technology. Her work ranges from demonstrating lessons and leading workshops to working with administrators developing curriculum and customizing professional development programs. She works in classrooms from pre-kindergarten through college and in a variety of settings, both urban and suburban.
Dr. Goldberg’s most recent books, What Do I Teach Readers Tomorrow? Fiction & Nonfiction (Corwin) and Mindsets & Moves: Strategies That Help Readers Take Charge (Corwin) have been met with great enthusiasm. They have allowed many teachers to make shifts in their practice creating positive impacts for their students. Gravity is co-author of the book, Conferring With Readers: Supporting Each Student’s Growth and Independence (Heinemann). These books show Gravity’s commitment to creating learning environments that are responsive and supportive of students, teachers and leaders alike.
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Dr. Goldberg studied at Boston College and Teachers College, Columbia University, pursuing a doctorate in education in Curriculum and Teaching. Her focus on educational policy, school reform, and literacy education still guide her work to this day. She is certified in Elementary Education, Special Education, and as a Reading Specialist (K-12). Gravity is a certified yoga teacher which allows her to bring elements of yoga to students and teachers, helping them find balance and focus in their work and lives.
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Gravity taught in inclusive elementary classrooms, self-contained special education settings, and worked as a reading specialist for pre-K - grade 12. For four years she worked at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, directed by Lucy Calkins, as a staff developer in classrooms across the country. She led workshops, modeled lessons, and created curricula. In addition, she ran a series of workshops for special educators, led literacy coaching courses, and served as a faculty member at the renowned summer institutes.
Brianne Annitti
Literacy Consultant
Brianne Annitti is an enthusiastic educator who is passionate about her love for literacy. With a strong philosophy that we all learn together, she accentuates her positive mindset to continue to grow professionally alongside other educators . For over a decade, Brianne has worked as both an elementary teacher and literacy coach in Ramsey, NJ, where she helped support educators with different literacy based practices. Brianne has knowledge and experience in writing curriculum, being a staff developer, and fostering student & teacher independence while offering choice.
Brianne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Psychology, as well as a Master of Arts in Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Brianne continues to evolve as a learner by taking additional graduate literacy courses, attending Columbia Teachers College workshops, and working with educators and consultants to research, collaborate, and study new theories in a classroom setting.
Dana Clark
Literacy Consultant
Dana Clark was a former teacher and coach with close to two decades of experience. As a district-based literacy coach Dana coached more than one hundred teachers and led the planning of literacy curriculum and professional development across six schools. Her main goal with teachers is to help them discover how they can bring themselves into their teaching in order to make best practices in literacy come alive for young readers, writers, and thinkers. Dana relishes the moments when students and teachers are deeply engaged in their work as she coaches them to persevere through the disequilibrium that precedes the “ah-ha moment” of new learning.
Dana holds a BS in education from Salve Regina University and has spent most of her career in New Jersey’s Fair Lawn School District. In 2004, she pursued a master’s degree and certification as a reading specialist through Fairleigh Dickinson University and she is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership program at Montclair State University. Beyond university learning, Dana deepens her professional knowledge and collaborates with colleagues through the Coaching Course in Paramus, the Littogether think tank, and the Paramus Summer Institutes on Teaching Reading and Writing. You can follow her on Twitter @danaclarklit or on her blog https://litlife.blog/.
Christy Curran
Literacy Consultant
Christy Curran began her teaching career in Pinellas County Florida’s public school system. She taught for nine years at a writing demonstration school, where her classroom was selected as a visitation site for teachers from all over to observe. She also led a summer writers’ camp sponsored by renowned journalism school The Poynter Institute a school.
In 2006 Christy joined the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. For eight years she worked alongside teachers, coaches, and administrators at schools around the country supporting the teaching of literacy. Christy presented at workshops, week-long institutes, though what gave her the most joy was being in the classroom working alongside teachers and children.
Christy has continued her literacy consulting work expanding it internationally. Just prior to the pandemic she worked in Bangkok, Bonn, Cairo, Chennai, Dubai, Frankfurt, Monterrey, Muscat, Panama City, Paraguay, Singapore, and Zurich.
Christy holds a B.S. in elementary education from University of South Florida and an M.A. in literacy specialist from Teachers College Columbia University.
Erin Donelson
Literacy Consultant
Erin Donelson is a literacy consultant from Los Angeles, CA. For nearly a decade, she has been supporting educators, nationally and internationally, in their classrooms with literacy instruction and curriculum development. She has also been a teacher and literacy coach in the Washington, DC and Los Angeles areas. Erin has a master’s degree from The George Washington University. In her spare time, you will find her surfing up and down the California coast.
Jigisha Vyas
Literacy Advisor
Jigisha Vyas is a university professor, instructional coach, a certified mindful educator, and co-author of Read-Alouds with Heart: Literacy Lessons that Build Community, Comprehension, and Cultural Competence (Scholastic 2023). Having over a decade of experience, she has worked with a variety of communities and with all different age groups, and has leadership in both special and general education.
Jigisha is also a certified yoga instructor and teaches yoga and meditation to all age groups. She finds passion in the work of building student voice and student agency, while actively leading and promoting equity and anti-bias teaching in education. In her free time, Jigisha enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.
Dr. Heather Frank
Literacy Consultant
A former elementary school teacher with 15 years experience in the Glen Rock Public Schools, Heather Frank brings to the team a passion for working collaboratively with teachers and other educators. She has extensive experience in writing curriculum, school and district level leadership, and staff development work focused on improving literacy-based instructional practices. Heather holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Gettysburg College and a Masters in the Art of Teaching in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Montclair State University, where she has also served as an adjunct professor. She is certified as a Teacher of Preschool Through Grade Three, in Elementary Education, and as a Supervisor.
Heather earned a doctorate in the Teacher Education and Teacher Development PhD program at Montclair State University. Her research interests, including teacher leadership, professional learning, and literacy, inform her work with teachers and students. If pressed to say what most defines her as an educator, she says it's her curiosity about—and commitment to—supporting students throughout the learning process as they move towards independence. You can follow her on Twitter @HeatherAFrank.
Renee Houser​​
Literacy Consultant
Renee Houser is a literacy consultant and co-author of the What Do I Teach Readers Tomorrow series of teacher resource books. Previously, Renee taught in the New York City public school system, worked as a staff developer at the Reading and Writing Project and as an adjunct professor at Teacher’s College, both at Columbia University, and co-founded Growing Educators, a literacy consulting company in Los Angeles, CA. Now living in North Carolina, Renee has started a new literacy consulting practice and is excited to launch her next project, The Teacher’s Toolkit for Independent Reading in collaboration with long time friend and colleague, Gravity Goldberg. She holds master’s degrees from both Old Dominion University and Fordham University and is currently studying the Reggio Emila approach to early childhood through the University of California Los Angeles.
Lily Howard Scott
Literacy Consultant
Lily Howard Scott is an educator who is deeply committed to weaving social and emotional learning (SEL) throughout all areas of literacy curricula. She received her MS.Ed in Teaching Literacy and Childhood General Education from Bank Street College of Education, where she now teaches in the Continuing Professional Studies department. For nearly 10 years, Lily taught elementary school in both private and public settings, and at heart she’ll always identify as a third grade teacher.
Lily believes that social, emotional, and academic learning are inextricably linked: students who feel uniquely known and valued at school are able to take the risks that inspire meaningful learning. She has led professional development for educators around the country on topics including cultivating emotional literacy through reading and writing instruction, normalizing vulnerability in the classroom, and helping children identify and celebrate their unique strengths. She was a featured speaker at the 2019 Collaborative for Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning (CASEL) SEL Exchange, and her writing about the importance of a flexible, child-centered approach to teaching and learning has been published in The Washington Post.
Dr. Margy Leininger​​
Literacy Consultant
Margy’s broad experience in instruction, curriculum, and early childhood education spans several decades. Margy earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University. After a move to the east coast, Margy was employed by the Ridgewood Public School system as a kindergarten and a first-grade teacher. While teaching, she earned a master’s degree from the City College of New York in Early Childhood Education. Margy also earned a master’s degree in Leadership from William Paterson University. She was asked to be a Teacher on Special Assignment, supporting the district’s elementary teachers as a district wide staff developer. This made her responsible for the development and updating of the districts’ elementary language arts curriculum as well as working closely with both the district teachers and the staff developers from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.
Margy was selected as the principal of Ridgewood’s Travell Elementary School where she has been the “lead learner” along with her staff and students. While principal, Margy earned her doctorate from Fielding Graduate University. Her doctoral dissertation focused on building and maintaining positive professional learning communities.
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Over several of the past summers, she has been a presenter at the Paramus Summer Institute on Reading and Writing, working with teachers to enhance their instructional skills, as well as taking an opportunity to deepen her own professional knowledge developed from the interactions of those attending the program.
Margy is a learner and advocate who strives to make the world a better place by working with children, teachers, and administrators, growing learning solutions and helping them to see the joy in reading and writing.
Jaime Margolies
Literacy Consultant
Jaime Margolies began supporting colleagues while working at a Blue Ribbon honored school, attended leadership groups at Columbia Teachers College, and working with colleagues to grow their literacy practice. She transitioned into her work as a literacy consultant which allowed her to impact teachers and students beyond her school. Jaime is the co-author of two books published by Scholastic: The Complete Year in Reading and Writing: Grade 1 and The Great Eight Management Strategies for the Reading and Writing Classroom. Jaime supports teachers at all levels to implement best practices in literacy through a balanced approach. Teachers experience success as they are coached in a gradual release model where labsites and one-on-one coaching support learning.
As a graduate of Bank Street College with a Masters Degree in Special Education, Jaime specializes in supporting all learners. She supports teachers in understanding and recognizing the importance of setting up systems towards independence for all learners. Jaime also works to support co-teaching models and Tier I and Tier II interventions. She works in both inclusive schools and special education schools. Her work with teachers, principals, literacy coaches, paras/assistant teachers and parents helps to create schools and communities where all students are successful.
Georgie Marley
Literacy Consultant
Georgie Marley is a graduate of The Australian National University and the University of Sydney, Georgie brings significant international experience to her literacy consulting. She taught in Australia, England and Hungary before moving to the US with her family. Georgie has extensive experience working as both a classroom teacher and a special needs teacher ensuring that differentiation is a normal element of her literacy practice.
In her role as a literacy consultant, Georgie leads workshops and lesson study on all aspects of the teaching of reading and writing including reading and writing workshop, small group instruction, independent reading, and conferring. She specializes in book curation, curriculum development, creating new and innovative units of study for all grades as well as working with new and experienced teachers to better their practice in all aspects of literacy. Georgie is also co-author of the book Homework Pages for Independent Reading from Scholastic.
Julie McAuley
Director of Operations
Julie studied at Pace University, graduating with her BBA in Marketing, specialty in advertising and promotion, along with an art minor. Prior to entering the world of education, Julie worked in the graphic design industry as a print production director. Her creative sense and business background make her an excellent balance to our literacy team.
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Julie lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.
