Our Experts
Advising from industry professionals

Our Instructional Advisory Board members are nationally recognized for their expertise in the field of English Language Learning. Ellevation seeks input from these expert partners for useful rubrics, additional activities to facilitate student learning, realistic lesson implementation, and opportunities to provide research-based tools and content for educators and the ELs that they serve.

Tim Boals

Executive Director
WIDA

Dr. Tim Boals is Executive Director of WIDA. He holds a Ph.D. in curriculum from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an emphasis in the education of ELs. His background includes language education, educational policy for ELs, and Spanish language and literature.

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David Holbrook

Executive Director of Federal Compliance and State Relationships
TransACT

Dr. David Holbrook now serves as  Executive Director of Federal Compliance and State Relationships for TransACT. He is a nationally recognized leader in federal programs administration and monitoring with expertise in Title I, Title III, Native American Education, and Federal Programs. Dr. Holbrook has also worked as a consultant with Title III of the US Department of Education.

Listen to Highest Aspirations Podcast: ESSA's Impact on EL Programs

Dr. José Medina

Chief Educational Advocate
Dr. José Medina: Educational Solutions

José Medina is the founder and Chief Educational Advocate for Dr. José Medina: Educational Solutions. Prior to establishing the boutique consulting firm, Dr. Medina served as Research Scientist and Director of Dual Language and Bilingual Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC. José provides dual language technical assistance, professional development, and job-embedded support to dual language programs across the United States and globally.

He is a former dual language school principal and district leader. José has served as an administrator/educator/advocate at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Medina is a co-author of the third edition and widely-used Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education.

Dr. Sonia Soltero

Chair of the Department of Leadership, Language, and Curriculum
DePaul University

Dr. Sonia W. Soltero is Professor and Chair of the Department of Leadership, Language, and Curriculum, and former Director of the Bilingual-Bicultural Education Graduate Program at DePaul University in Chicago. Soltero has numerous publications on bilingual education, English Learners, and Latino Education having been involved with dual/bilingual education for more than thirty years as a dual language teacher, university professor, professional developer, and researcher. Soltero has extensive background in design and implementation of dual language and bilingual programs and has worked with school districts as well as bilingual universities across the US. 

Dr. Sonia W. Soltero es Profesora y Directora del Departamento de Liderazgo, Lenguaje, y Currículo en la Universidad de DePaul en Chicago, y anteriormente fue Directora del Programa de Posgrado de Educación Bilingüe. Soltero tiene numerosas publicaciones sobre la educación bilingüe, aprendices del inglés como segundo idioma, y la educación de Latinos en Estados Unidos, ya que ha estado envuelta en el desarrollo de la educación dual y bilingüe por más de treinta años, tanto como docente, profesora universitaria, entrenadora profesional, e investigadora. Soltero tiene amplia experiencia en el diseño e implementación de programas bilingües y educación dual, y ha colaborado con distritos escolares al igual que universidades bilingües a través del país.

John Seidlitz

Founder
Seidlitz Education

John Seidlitz is an independent educational consultant and the author of Sheltered Instruction Plus: A Guide for Texas Teachers of English Learners; Navigating the ELPS: Using the New Standards to Improve Instruction for English Learners; and a contributing author for The SIOP® Model for Teaching History-Social Studies for English Learners.

He is the co-author of numerous publications including the 7 Steps to Developing a Language-Rich Interactive Classroom®. Mr. Seidlitz has been a member of the SIOP® National faculty and guest lecturer for many regional and national language development conferences.

He taught social studies and ESL, served as a secondary ESL program coordinator, and held the position of education specialist at ESC Region 20 in San Antonio, Texas. In 2005, Mr. Seidlitz founded Seidlitz Education which is dedicated to the mission of Giving Kids the Gift of Academic Language™.

Jeff Zwiers

Senior Researcher
Stanford University

Jeff Zwiers is a senior researcher at Stanford University. He supports the Understanding Language Initiative and collaborates with teachers, instructional coaches, and school systems to improve the education of academic English learners. He co-directs the Academic Language Development Network, which focuses on accelerating students' literacy, language, cognition, and conversation skills. He has also written books and articles on these topics. His current work, supported by a National Professional Development Grant, focuses on developing teachers’ practices for fostering students’ academic language and literacy across disciplines. 

Listen to Highest Aspirations Podcast: Meaningful Academic Conversations