3 Power Talk Speakers at Literacy for All: The National Institute

Meet one of the 2024 TNI Power Talk presenters, Amy Mayer, CEO of friEDTech.

Are you registered for LITERACY FOR ALL: The National Institute yet? If not, there’s still time. Modeled after our well-loved LONG + LIVE + MATH National Institute, LITERACY FOR ALL promises to be an inspiring and energizing conference where you’ll gain access to research-backed strategies that you can start using in your classroom immediately. 

While you’ll spend the bulk of your time at LITERACY FOR ALL learning, collaborating, and networking with other passionate literacy educators and advocates from across the country, the conference will feature three high-energy power talks from the speakers featured below. Read on to learn more about our exciting keynotes.  

Malcolm Mitchell

Superbowl Champion, Author, and Literacy Advocate 

Malcolm Mitchell is well known for his achievements on and off the football field. After an illustrious college football career at the University of Georgia, he was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2016, and in February 2017, he became a Super Bowl Champion. While still a student-athlete, Malcolm received numerous awards for his visits to elementary schools to read to students and talk about literacy, a message he’s championed ever since.  

When Mitchell started college, he read at a middle school level but quickly discovered how vital reading would be for his academic success and general quality of life. Through hard work and perseverance, Mitchell became an avid reader. Books became an avenue to expand his curiosity, creativity, and learning.

In 2015, Mitchell published his first children’s book, The Magician’s Hat, a story about how reading can help people achieve their goals. In 2020, he published a second children’s book, My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World, which shows even reluctant readers that there’s a book out there for everyone. In 2016, Mitchell established the Share the Magic Foundation, a non-profit with the mission of transforming children’s lives through reading. Since its founding, the Foundation has placed books in the hands of more than 65,000 young readers and provided literacy programs to more than 300,000 students. 

Although Mitchell’s awards are too numerous to list, he considers his love of reading one of his greatest achievements. His power talk will address how literacy changes lives.

John Antonetti

Teacher, Best-Selling Author, and Educational Strategist 

John Antonetti has visited thousands of classrooms throughout North America to explore the question, “What truly engages learners intellectually and emotionally?” He has taught AP Chemistry, kindergarten, and most grades in between in Arkansas.  Today, he works with schools across the U.S. and Canada on student engagement, writing, rigor and relevance, and high–yield best practices.

Antonetti has written Writing as a Measure and Model of Thinking and co-authored the best-seller 17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong: Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement. He is currently working with colleagues on a book about the power of technology to engage learners.

At LITERACY FOR ALL, Antonetti will talk about engaging learners to master more content and develop deeper skill sets. He’ll also address how to encourage students to articulate their thinking, which will lead to better problem-solving in the classroom and beyond. Using the latest cognitive research, Antonetti will lead a humorous, interactive session that integrates strategy, thinking, and engagement in a three-dimensional approach to teaching that you’ll be excited to try in your classroom.

Dr. Barrie Olson

Chief Literacy Officer at Carnegie Learning 

Dr. Barrie Olson believes that every classroom holds a future scientist, a future Pulitzer prize winner, a future novelist. Recognizing the challenges that students and educators alike face, her work at Carnegie Learning focuses on designing and delivering quality resources, tools, and professional supports that ensure that the leaders of tomorrow receive the foundations they need today. Operating from a system’s approach, Dr. Olson envisions connecting each level of the educational system to enact change and create equity for all students and support for all educators. 

Before joining Carnegie Learning, Dr. Olson was the Chief Academic Officer at the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC). This educational non-profit aims to eliminate opportunity gaps by ensuring that every student can engage in rigorous and authentic standards-driven reading and writing. 

Prior to her work at LDC, Dr. Olson was a literacy professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Louisville, and the University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College. Dr. Olson’s research focuses on teaching discipline-specific writing and on the process of writing transfer from secondary to post-secondary education. She has been published in journals such as Composition Studies, Writing Across the Curriculum, and the Journal of College Writing. 

At LITERACY FOR ALL, Dr. Olson will focus on the why behind literacy instruction. What does it really mean to be an ELA teacher, and how do we advocate for ourselves and others to have the resources we need to truly achieve literacy for all? 

Join us for LITERACY FOR ALL: The National Institute

We can’t wait to see you in July at LITERACY FOR ALL: The National Institute! Save your seat today.

Conference details: 

• Where: Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa | Indian Wells, California
• When: July 18-21, 2022